Chatham County's flu, COVID cases on the rise going into holidays

He predicts a similar uptick over the December and January holidays. “As more people travel, there's a greater opportunity for exposure to somebody who is infected. We’ll have more parties and more indoor gatherings. The risk is there.”

Variant and flu impact

Of the impact of the omicron and delta variants, the latter continues to inflict more damage in Chatham County, said Davis. He said 98% to 99% of the current COVID-19 cases in Georgia are due to the delta variant.

“We’re concerned about the omicron variant," he said, "but delta is still doing its work.”

With the holidays also comes the annual flu season. Davis said he predicts more flu cases in Chatham County than in recent years. He attributes that to two factors: COVID-19 fatigue and increased vaccine hesitancy.

“Last year when everybody was masking and social distancing, and we hadn’t gotten the first COVID-19 vaccines out yet, people were masking and distancing and washing their hands, so we didn't have much of a flu season,” said Davis.

“But now, people are weary and tired and COVID-tired of wearing masks. We let our guard down collectively. I suspect we will have more of a flu season this year than we did last year.”

Although he doesn't have solid data yet to confirm his assumption, Davis has witnessed a flu vaccine hesitancy reminiscent of the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, when talking directly to nurses in the Coastal Health District’s clinics. “It’s definitely carrying over; we've not administered as many flu shots as we would like.”

COVID-19 fatigue

He encourages people to push through the fatigue and hesitancy to protect themselves and their loved ones going into the new year.

“If you haven't had a flu shot, please consider getting a flu shot. If you are fully vaccinated against COVID and you're eligible for a booster dose, then I would strongly encourage you to get a booster dose," Davis advised. "And then, if you're going to have gatherings, remind people of all those ways that we can be careful by not attending things where you're at high risk of being exposed before you gather with your loved ones and close friends for Christmas, especially if they're older.

"And then, when you do gather, if you're not sure of the people's vaccination status, but you're meeting with them, just be careful.”

Drew Favakeh is the public safety and public health reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@savannahnow.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Chatham County's flu, COVID cases on the rise going into holidays