DENVER — A pediatric emergency room doctor at HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children is preparing for an influx of flu cases in Colorado now that students are back in school.
Denver7 talked to Dr. Neil Cella who left the ER for a few minutes to come chat with us.
“We saw a brief lull in, at least I did, in the volume of influenza that was coming into the ER during the Christmas break, because they're not all around each other. And I think just like that, it'll pick back up,” Dr. Cella said.
“I'd say this has been one of the busier flu seasons, actually, in my career, I've been doing about 15 years,” he added.
The latest hospitalization numbers from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) shows hospitalizations peaked at the end of December, then dropped in the last week, to 737 hospitalizations for the week ending January 3.
That’s down from 831 cases the prior week.
Dr. Cella said kids are being admitted for high fever, dehydration and other complications.
“We're also seeing some kids that we need to admit to the hospital for low oxygen,” Dr Cella said. “You know, if they have other illnesses, like if they have asthma or other chronic diseases, then they're a little bit more vulnerable than they might need admission for.”
This year’s strain is particularly difficult and couple that with how contagious the flu is, it's chalking up to be a hard flu season.
Part of the issue is this season’s vaccine may not fit it perfectly. However, the CDPHE and state doctors still advise to get the shot because it can prevent severe symptoms, keeping people out of the hospital.
"I got the flu this year, and I got the flu vaccine myself, and it was a short lived illness for me, and I think the vaccine contributed to that," Dr. Cella said.
