El Paso County faces brutal Flu season; KRDO medical expert weighs in

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Flu season has been particularly brutal this season, with flu activity across the country reaching a 25-year high, except for a handful of states. 

In just the past few weeks, El Paso County has seen a massive spike in hospitalizations caused by respiratory illnesses as a new variant continues to spread.

KRDO's medical expert, Dr. Neha Sharma, joined us in the studio to take a closer look at this year's flu season spike. 

Below are the questions we asked Dr. Sharma and her answers:

Could you tell us why Colorado is seeing such a significant spike? While states like Montana, Vermont, and West Virginia are not?

"Flu is seasonal, it's regional, but it's not identical across all states. It is about timing. It's not gonna hit every state at one time. Colorado is definitely seeing an earlier and sharper surge, but it could be that it's because the other states are behind the curve and they have not seen their surges yet. But there are also two other contributing factors, likely. That's because Colorado had a low vaccination rate this season and a higher testing rate, which is making more cases visible."

When discussing the flu vaccine, medical providers here in southern Colorado this year report that the vaccine is a bit of a mismatch. As the variant popped up after this year's vaccines were selected.

Is the flu vaccine still effective this year at all? Should you rush out and get one if you haven't yet?

"Yes, this new variant... is very contagious, and it is currently the dominant strain, affecting about 90% of the cases, and it did pop up after the vaccine, so there is a mismatch, but despite that, the vaccine is still effective."

"Now is it going to prevent flu or every infection? No, it's not, but it's going to significantly reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death. And if you still haven't gotten it, it's not too late. Go ahead and get it ASAP."

When are we expecting to hit peak flu season? And how long could this surge last?

"Usually we hit the peak between January and February, but based on current trend, we may be right at the peak or approaching it very soon...but usually the, the activity stays dominant until late March and early April."

If you have questions for Dr. Sharma, email them to healthycolorado@KRDO.com.

You can watch the full discussion with Dr. Sharma above.

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