The Iowa Department of Public Health’s medical director says the flu outbreak in Iowa isn’t letting up. Doctor Patricia Quinlisk doesn’t expect the number of cases to stop increasing anytime soon.
“I would guess it will go up for another couple of weeks,” Quinlisk says. “Unfortunately we are still seeing flu (cases) continue to increase. And from what I’m hearing from emergency rooms and health care providers in the community, they’re seeing a lot of flu.” Quinlisk says if you’ve avoided the flu you can help keep it away by getting the vaccine.
“The one thing I would say if is you haven’t gotten your flu shot yet — go get it now. It’s a little late, but you’ll still get protection for most of the flu season, and this is a bad strain of the flu and if you can avoid it, you’ll want to avoid it,” Quinlisk says.
On top of the flu shot, Quinlisk says you should continue using good hygiene practices by washing your hands and staying home if you have the flu.