TEMPLE, Texas — Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, flu cases declined with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting only two thousand cases during the season from September 27th, 2022, to April 24th, 2021.
Mask restrictions and social distancing are now becoming a thing of the past. Physicians are warning of what may be a severe flu season this fall and winter.
"We've taken off our masks," aid Kaylar Griffin, an employee health nurse at AdventHealth Central Texas. "So now that's going to be that element that is so important for people to come out and get vaccinated because we are expecting a surge in the fall."
Earlier this month the CDC reported that flu cases increased a little over 303 percent for the influenza A strain since last year - affecting mostly children ages four and younger.
Hospitals and clinics across Central Texas are providing free vaccinations with hopes to increase visits as flu season officially begins.
For more information on the next drive-thru flu shot clinic, you can visit their website here.
