Local Health Departments Discuss Peak Flu Season

(CAMBRIDGE, Md) – Getting together with family and friends over the holidays can be fun, but it can also leave you feeling not your best.

Officials at the Dorchester County Health Department are reminding us that while the peak of flu season is already here on the Eastern Shore it’s not to late to prepare yourself.

Dorchester Nursing Supervisor, Ashlea Foxwell tells WMDT, “So every year, the, the peak is a little bit different and it is projected. Science tells us when it may peak…And so it just is we’re approaching the peak here. But it’s still time to be able to get immunized and protect yourself.”

According to a report from the Maryland Department of Health’s latest report; of over 13,000 people tested in the state, over 21% were positive for Influenza A, the strain the department says is most likely going around.

And with many more people getting together for Christmas festivities and New Year’s celebrations, it can be very easy to pass a respiratory virus along to someone else.

“It’s it’s pretty contagious. And if you’re around someone who is unwell, the chances of you also becoming sick if you’re not protected is there,” says Foxwell.

There are steps you can take as you celebrate with loved ones to end the year to make sure you don’t get sick.

“Number one, get vaccinated. Good hand-washing technique. Stay home. If you’re sick, don’t go out in public until those, symptoms start to decrease, is the best people can do,” says Somerset county Nursing Supervisor, Mindy Hood.