Colorado doctors predict earlier flu season, recommend getting vaccine as soon as possible

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Colorado doctors are predicting an earlier flu season, and are urging everyone to get the flu shot as early as possible.

11 News spoke with UCHealth, which uses predictions for the upcoming flu season based on trends in the Southern Hemisphere. According to health officials, in Australia, the combination of COVID-19, RSV and the flu reached higher-than-average levels.

“The reason we pick Australia is because the data is available and they’re opposite us in terms of seasons. ... The seasonality of these viruses is not unique to the United States,” said Senior Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control Dr. Michelle Barron.

Doctors say last flu season (2022-2023) was more of a “typical” season, after a few years of unusual flu seasons mixed with COVID-19.

“That first year of COVID, I think we were terrified that we were going to see flu and COVID. ... That year, uptick of the flu shot was I think the highest its ever been. In subsequent years, I think with all the controversy around the COVID vaccine, we saw a dampening effect on all vaccines, not just flu, but pretty much all vaccines,” said Barron.

UCHealth says the new monovalent COVID-19 vaccine is set to come out at the end of September. The new RSV vaccine, which was just recently approved by the FDA for older adults, is also expected to come out in a few weeks.

“RSV is known to cause ‘croup’ in kids. In adults, it can cause bronchitis and pneumonia in individuals who are older, or have underlying lung disease like asthma or COPD, or have compromised immune systems due to medications or underlying conditions,” said Barron.

Health officials say flu season in the United States typically begins around Thanksgiving and peaks in December or January. UCHealth predicts it to begin in October this year and peak around Thanksgiving. That’s why doctors are urging everyone, especially kids, parents and grandparents, to get the flu shot as early as possible this year.

“The best time to get it is when you get it so it’s convenient, right. If you think about it, and you happen to be at the grocery store, happen to be at a pharmacy, or your medical appointment, and they have the flu shot, just get it then,” said Barron. “We want you healthy. We want you to be able to enjoy being in Colorado and you can’t do that when you have a cold or when you’re sick at home. It’s in interest, and the public interest, that we all do this.”

Copyright 2023 KKTV. All rights reserved.