As we head into a holiday of family gatherings, health officials are reminding everyone to take precautions to stay healthy -- especially as this flu season is hitting hard and for some people, they seem to be catching either stronger strains or requiring even longer recovery times.
"A lot of people have been getting sick at my school, it's crazy, its like the new COVID, you know," said Eli Luera.
Despite the sunny demeanor of families enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday, there are some clouded thoughts in the backs of people's minds when it comes to getting sick ahead of the holidays.
Staying Ahead of Flu Season
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"Before people were sick and they didn’t really think much of it, but now you're always concerned about everything else," said Yesenia Cardona.
Doctors also encourage people be up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccines and to get their flu shot. About 25% of San Diegans have gotten their flu vaccine, according to latest County data.
"If you haven't been vaccinated, you can expect that your symptoms will tend to last longer and that's the case with flu and COVID," said Dr. Abi Olulade.
Olulade is the Chief Impact Officer at Sharp Rees-Stealy and explains how this holiday season, people are getting together more and if you haven’t been sick in a while, you can expect that initial exposure to be when you get the sickest.
"We know that last year we had the masking, we had distancing, people were being more cautious about washing their hands and now all of that's gone away," said Dr. Olulade. "Because of that, we are seeing that these viruses are spreading more and more and we are seeing people saying that they are getting sicker."
When it comes to holiday gatherings, doctors say the best things to do are to be outside, wear a mask, and if you are sick, stay home.
