Local doctors said the surge in flu has been the worst it's been in more than 15 years. While flu is up, COVID is not as bad as we've seen in previous winters.
"During the pandemic, I can't tell you, I barely saw flu in the ICU," said Dr. Ahmed Salem. "I didn't see anyone with influenza. But the vast majority of patients who are ill enough to be in the ICU had coronavirus during the pandemic, and now, the patients who are really sick in the ICU have influenza."
Dr. Salem said hospitals are experiencing the worst influenza, or flu, season since 2009. There's been more than 30,000 flu cases in San Diego County since June 2024, according to the county's health department.
For COVID, wastewater data from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionshows COVID activity is lower compared to previous years.
"As our immune system has been exposed to coronavirus, it's had its run," said Dr. Salem. "That is no longer running around within, it's not an epidemic or a pandemic, it's not something that's being transmitted. It's not out there in its virology."
As for the flu?
"Tens of thousands of influenza cases just in the county," said Dr. Salem. "And I said this is, this in terms of people who have been infected, people who have been ill, people who are testing positive."
Dr. Mark Beatty with San Diego County said this season's festivities have resulted in other respiratory illness increases, too.
"A lot of people got together during the winter holidays," said Dr. Beatty. "That could lead to a big bump to transmission, that usually lead to peaks in previous years during the pandemic for COVID. It didn't happen this year, but it did for flu. And also, RSV has been showing an increase that's kind of parallel influenza, but not at the same magnitude."
