DENVER — It was a rough New Year celebration for Denver resident Justin Orr.
He told Denver7 he started feeling sick on Monday, and things quickly spiraled when it exacerbated his asthma.
“January 1, I tried to go to Walgreens Pharmacy to get an inhaler, but of course, they were closed for New Year’s. And then I was like, ‘Yep, I gotta go to a hospital because I feel like something else is going on in my body,’” said Orr.
He headed to AdventHealth in Porter, where he was admitted for complications from the flu. He's one of hundreds of people hospitalized for the flu so far this flu season in Colorado.
“As a kid, my mom always took me every year — me and my brother — to go get our flu shots, and this is the first time in my lifetime as an adult living on my own where I didn't get my flu shot, and I paid the consequences,” said Orr.
It's been just over six weeks since Denver7 first told you about the risk for a spike in illnesses due to low flu and COVID-19 vaccination rates. Back then, there'd been just 22 flu hospitalizations. Now, that number is up to 673.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), just 13 percent of Coloradans have received their COVID-19 vaccine this season, and about a quarter have gotten the flu shot.
“Everything really started ramping kind of the later in the first week of December,” said Dr. Rebecca Kornas, emergency room medical director at AdventHealth Avista.
Dr. Kornas said it’s a double whammy this year as some patients are coming in with both the flu and norovirus, which is also making its rounds.
One interesting thing to note – COVID-19 cases have not shown the same spike as the flu and RSV in Colorado.
“There wasn't the spike in COVID that we've seen in previous years this fall, maybe because we had this persistent trip of people getting infected during the summer. But flu is a different beast,” said Kornas.
The weekly influenza report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows Colorado has some of the highest flu rates in the country.
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Experts warn of increased risk to viral illnesses this holiday season
Dr. Jared Eddy, director of infection prevention at National Jewish Health in Denver, said we're not in the clear yet.
“You know, there'll be a peak, but the high level of virus will last for a number of weeks,” said Eddy.
Experts say this spike in cases could continue until late January or early February. Eddy advised that you get tested for flu and COVID-19 as soon as possible, take multiple tests to make sure they're accurate, and if you're positive, start taking antivirals.
“The earlier that you take these antivirals or get them prescribed, the more effective they are for you,” he said.
If you do get sick this flu season, be mindful of your symptoms.
“When you start having a more rapid pulse, like something that's persistently above 100-110, [or] if you're having a persistent fever, it's very reasonable to come into the emergency department,” said Kornas.
Orr said he hopes his story serves as a reminder to others in the Front Range to get the flu shot.
“Hopefully anybody who hears this message, please do what you need to do to stay safe," he said.
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