Aneurin Canham-Clyne Photo
Cartter: Worst yet to come.
The worst is yet to come this flu season, state epidemiologist Matthew Cartter said Friday morning, as part of a public call for New Haveners, especially kids, to get vaccinated.
Cartter, speaking on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Health, said the flu season will likely get over the next four weeks before gradually dissipating by early April. Cartter added that this flu season, while not catastrophic, is more severe than usual.
Cartter spoke at a press conference at Yale-New Haven Hospital on Friday morning along with Richard Martinello, the hospital’s director of epidemiology and infection control, and Byron Kennedy, who runs the New Haven Department of Health.
“There has been a dramatic rise in the number hospitalized in Connecticut this year,” Cartter said. Six hundred and fifteen people have been hospitalized for the flu in Connecticut in the last five months, according to Carter. Sixty-nine people were hospitalized in New Haven.
Kennedy said that even though the state is deep into the flu season, people can take steps take to prevent infection.
“Influenza is preventable, and the best thing you can do is vaccinate,” Kennedy said. Kennedy added that vaccines late in the season can still prevent an infection and lessen symptoms.
Kennedy said that many people at risk for the flu never get vaccinated.
Byron Kennedy.
“This disproportionately affects old people, young children, and vulnerable people including pregnant women, immune-compromised people, and people with low socioeconomic status,” Kennedy said. Black and hispanic people also tend to be more at risk, Kennedy said.
Richard Martinello said Yale New Haven Hospital is restricting visitors below the age of 12 who might have the flu as part of infection control procedures. Martinello said this is a standard hospital policy during the flu season and was not caused by the increased severity of this year’s flu. The virulence of the disease was compounded by an early start to the flu season this year, he said..
Cartter said that the flu has caused 20 pediatric deaths nationwide this year, including one in Connecticut. He said most pediatric deaths were due to the flu exacerbating underlying medical conditions, like asthma or neurological problems. Cartter said the vaccine reduces symptoms but is no guarantee of protection from infection.
“Pediatric deaths happen even among vaccinated children,” Cartter said.