CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — State officials from the Department of Health along with UPMC medical providers are expected to kick off this year's flu season by getting their flu shots at the UPMC West Shore Medical Center.
The media briefing will begin at 10 a.m. and officials are expected to urge residents to get their flu vaccine before November.
The swift target month comes with reports of continuous transmission of the COVID-19 virus. The department reported 14,076 additional positive COVID-19 cases from the past weekend into Monday, Oct. 4. In addition, the number of hospitalizations has reached 2,776 with 672 patients in intensive care.
The CDC reported record low numbers for the 2020-21 flu season reporting 1,675 (0.2%) of 818,939 respiratory specimens tested by U.S. clinical laboratories were positive for an influenza virus.
The agency says the decreased transmission is due to COVID-19 mitigation efforts such as masking and social distancing. Dr. John Goldman of UPMC adds the results are within two factors.
"One, flu decreases because of masking and social distancing, and two, we don't have the same kind of exposure and immunity in the population that we would typically have because there was no flu season last year," he said.