CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The number of flu cases continues to rise across the state.
The Iowa Department of Heath and Human Services said 47 schools across Iowa had at least 10% of students out with illness during the week before Christmas.
St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids said it expects the number of cases to continue to grow because of the time people spent in close quarters over the holidays.
Dr. Dustin Arnold, St. Luke’s Hospital Chief Medical Officer, said the hospital had about 60 cases of flu before Christmas.
The week after, cases had tripled.
Dr. Arnold said even if you test positive for the flu with an at-home test, it’s still worth seeing the doctor to be prescribed a medication, like Tamiflu, to help with symptoms.
“It may lessen the intensity of the illness. So you may not be as fatigued or have complications from that. So it does reduce hospitalizations,” Dr. Arnold said.
Dr. Arnold said while Flu cases are high, the number of COVId-19 cases right now are low.
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