ATLANTA — The flu has already killed 12 people in Georgia. Now, doctors are concerned about a new flu spike this week as children head back to school.
Doctors said when everyone's cooped up in the same space, germs spread fast. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention expects the flu to be intense for the next few weeks, during the last stretch of flu season.
The Georgia Department of Public Health is reporting widespread flu activity. It counts at least five flu-related deaths and more than 300 hospitalizations in Georgia so far this season. Patients have packed hospitals, including Northside's three locations.
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At Peachtree Immediate Care in Cumming, the chief medical officer said it’s about to get worse.
“Because of the two days where everybody was at home, schools were closed. People crowd together. More spreading goes on,” said Dr. James Yost.
Yost said they’ve seen about a 50 percent increase in cases every week.
Georgia Goseer, immunization coordinator for the Fulton County Board of Health, spoke to Channel 2's Craig Lucie on Monday. She is the one who orders all the shots for their six clinics, including Adamsville Regional Health Center in southwest Atlanta.
"I’m surprised by it we have had an outbreak like this in a long, long time," she said.
Goseer said this outbreak is concerning.
The Fulton County Board of Health said there is not a flu vaccine shortage this year. It said the demand for flu shots has been average this season at its health centers because of there are so many places for people to go to get their flu shot.
Cox Media Group
