Southwest Florida braces for flu season amid still-high COVID-19 hospitalizations, waning safety measures

Flu season officially starts Friday amid still-high rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in Southwest Florida, a lifting of masking requirements in schools and a population, frankly, sick of following pandemic-related safety measures.

Lee Health, the region's largest hospital system, saw a relatively benign influenza season last year in terms of hospitalizations, a trend that also played out nationally. But the severity of this year's coming season is anyone's guess.

Mary Beth Saunders, a physician and infectious diseases specialist with Lee Health, said flu season in the Southern Hemisphere — used to predict the severity of influenza in the Northern Hemisphere — has been relatively mild. But that doesn't necessarily mean it will stay that way in the coming months.

"I think the thing that helped us get to lower influenza numbers of the past two years was the fact that there was masking, social distancing and a lot of activity surrounding preventing respiratory viruses in general, not just COVID," Saunders said. 

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Florida is still recovering from its worst wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

While the number of statewide hospitalizations have dropped sharply from their summer peak of more than 17,000, more than 5,900 Floridians are still getting treatment at health centers for the virus. That includes more than 230 in Lee and Collier counties.

At least 74 people have died over the last week in the two counties from COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of influenza cases doesn't typically start to peak in Southwest Florida until January or February. But the flu can be spread anytime during the year and generally can start to quickly increase in the fall. Given that, public health experts say people should get vaccinated now.

Lee County COVID-19 vaccine tracker: 58% of people fully vaccinated

Collier County COVID-19 vaccine tracker: 66% of people fully vaccinated

Flu vaccines, recommended for everyone over the age of 6 months, won't prevent all cases of influenza, but the shots do decrease the chances a person will get sick and can lessen the severity of the illness.

The shots are already available at Southwest Florida retail pharmacies and physician clinics. Vaccines are recommended every year because the virus mutates frequently. It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to be fully effective.

The CDC estimates that the flu was responsible for 22,000 deaths and 400,000 hospitalizations in the United States during the 2019-2020 season, according to the most recent data available.

People 65 and older or younger than 5 are at a higher risk for flu complications, as are those with compromised immune systems.

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Deaths from the flu and the commonly accompanying pneumonia accounted for more than 2,700 Florida deaths in 2019, according to the most recent estimates available from the CDC and the Florida Department of Health.

Georgine Kruedelbach, a nurse and director of infection prevention for NCH Healthcare System, said in an email to The News-Press/Naples Daily News that the hospital system is preparing for an increase in cases this year.

"As many states and municipalities have lifted mask mandates and a greater number of the population is starting to resume activities like attending sporting events, concerts, or holiday gatherings where a large number of people are together with many in attendance not wearing a mask, we anticipate this year’s flu season to have greater numbers than what we experienced last flu season," Kruedelbach wrote.

Other than getting vaccinated, public health agencies say the best way of preventing the spread of influenza is to avoid contact with anyone who is sick, to cover up coughs, wash your hands frequently, and to clean and disinfect objects that have come into contact with someone who is sick.

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Common flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue, according to the CDC. Some people may also experience vomiting and diarrhea. 

"We're all experiencing that pandemic fatigue, but our doctors, our nurses, our frontline health care workers have literally seen a war zone in the medical field," said Kristine Hollingsworth, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health in Collier County. "They deserve a break, and getting the vaccines is important, not just to protect yourself, but also the community."

Frank Gluck is a watchdog reporter with The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Connect with him at fgluck@news-press.com or on Twitter: @FrankGluck