ATLANTA — Flu numbers continue to rise after the holiday season, and doctors are warning that the number of hospitalizations could keep climbing in the coming weeks.
Queeny Dasilva told Channel 2’s Candace McCowan that she rushed her 11-month-old baby boy, Quinn, to the hospital over the weekend when the heart rate monitor on her baby monitor spiked dramatically.
“He just kept crying, he was uncomfortable,” recalled Dasilva. “We just know that at least we are in a place [where] if something happens, we are going to get help.”
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Doctors are seeing a slew of flu patients, and it can be serious.
Dr. Hiral Lavania’s Cumming practice, One Family Pediatrics, says this season’s flu is not only leaving kids out of schools for more than a week.
“We’ve had two kids already hospitalized for things such as muscle inflammation and pneumonia,” Dr. Lavania said.
And these are children who are otherwise healthy.
“The only difference is they didn’t get the flu vaccine,” said Dr. Lavania.
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“It’s really a rise in cases that we probably haven’t seen in at least a decade now,” said Dr. Gavin Harris with Emory Healthcare
Dr. Harris says even though the flu vaccine isn’t well-matched this year, it could still save your life.
“The effectiveness data that we are seeing is still about 70-75% effective in preventing severe disease that might require hospitalization in children and also 30-40% in adults,” said Dr. Harris.
For baby Quinn’s mom, she’s thankful he seems to be turning a corner.
“It’s scary to a point where you wish it’s going to be just you, just take it on me and not on a baby that’s defenseless,” said Dasilva.
Quinn was released from the hospital.
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