Utah's flu outbreak is getting worse
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Influenza is sending a lot of young children and older adults to the hospital. Case counts are still shooting up weeks after Utah's early start to flu season.
Why it matters: The early arrival of flu and other winter viruses was already overwhelming Primary Children's Hospital, with record ER visits and doctors delaying some surgeries.
By the numbers: There were 3.72 flu hospitalizations per 100,000 Utahns last week — more than five times the rate in early December of any of the last five years, according to the Utah Department of Health.
- The hospitalization rate is almost as high as the peak during the 2019-2020 flu season, which occurred in February, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Influenza data tracked by Intermountain Healthcare show a sharper rise in flu cases this winter than last.
The latest: State health officials are warning Utahns to get their flu shots "as soon as possible."
What they're saying: "I take care of people … who have been vaccinated and have influenza, and who have not been vaccinated and have influenza — and I would much rather have vaccinated influenza; it's a much milder disease," Dr. Marion Bishop, an emergency room doctor at Brigham City Community & Cache Valley Hospital, told FOX 13.
The big picture: By early December, most of the nation had even higher flu rates than Utah.
- Flu generally moves east to west, and from the coasts to the interior of the country — so the Mountain West region often peaks later than most other states.