The total number of flu-related hospitalizations in metro Atlanta has now reached a new high at 1,801 during this flu season — and it’s not over yet.
This figure —1,801 hospitalizations in metro Atlanta — is already higher than any total for a flu season since the Georgia Department of Public Health started using this tracking system in 2009.
The tally is far more than the totals during recent years and even dwarfs the 2014-2015 season, which was considered a severe flu season, and the number of hospitalizations in metro Atlanta climbed to 1,460 for the entire season ending in May.
Georgia's death toll from flu also continued to mount this week, and now stands at 79 dead from the sickness.
The state Department of Public Health on Friday released figures for the week ending February 10, showing that 13 new patients were confirmed dead from flu, one of them a child.
Health officials are urging people who have not been vaccinated to do so. The request came with greater emphasis when late last week they learned that data showed the flu vaccine this year was somewhat more effective than previously thought.
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SYMPTOMS OF A FLU EMERGENCY
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emergency warning signs for people to go to the ER include:
Trouble breathing
Chest pain
Persistent vomiting
Flu-like symptoms that improve but return with fever and a worse cough
EVERYONE SHOULD
Cough into the inside of your elbow, not the open air
Get a flu shot
Avoid infected people if possible
Wash hands frequently
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MORE: Have the flu? Atlanta archbishop advises ill Catholics to skip Mass
MORE: 8 things you need to know about this year's really bad flu season
READ: The agony of ER waits: Flu season is making them worse
READ: Father of Coweta teen who died of flu asks, "Why?"
Click this link to check out the wait times: https://hospitals.myajc.com/
Ariel Hart contributed to this article.
