CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina has had its first flu death of the season; North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services officials confirmed an adult in the western part of the state died due to complications of influenza during the third week of October.
The state will not be releasing the person’s hometown, county, age or gender.
"This is a sad reminder that flu can be a serious illness and can lead to complications and even death in some cases," State Epidemiologist Zack Moore said. "With flu cases increasing and COVID-19 still with us, it is tremendously important for people to get a flu vaccine this year."
COVID-19 trends are continuing to slowly decrease in both North Carolina and Mecklenburg County, but doctors are concerned about an early and aggressive start to the respiratory virus season. Both North and South Carolina are already seeing high flu activity, according to the CDC.
During the pandemic, there were relatively mild cold and flu seasons. Doctors say during that time, RSV was mutating.
“The pandemic has definitely had an impact and the virus has gotten a little bit smarter and a little bit more aggressive,” Dr. Amra Zuzo a Novant Health pediatrician, said.
The clinics have been slammed with sick kids.
Doctors stress the need to stay home if sick, stay vigilant with hand washing and get vaccinated.
But coming out of the pandemic, there’s a lot of vaccine fatigue -- 11% of the eligible state population has gotten the omicron-specific booster and flu shot uptake is slow.
“We always struggle with the flu shot just to be honest," Dr. Raynard Washington, the Mecklenburg County Health Director said. "I think one in three adults get a flu shot on an annual basis which is fairly low."
Doctors stress the need to get the flu shot before the end of October.
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.