Cases of Flu and COVID-19 continue climbing and health officials are strongly recommending all eligible individuals get vaccinated against both. Van Buren/Cass District Health Department spokesperson Holly Young says they’re seeing a concerning surge in cases. Officials believe that surge, Young says, is even stronger than what the data is showing them right now.
“Even with those numbers being high, they don’t accurately represent the real cases that we’re seeing in Van Buren and Cass. So with the at-home COVID tests, while that’s a really great resource for people to quickly see whether they test positive for COVID or not, it leaves some gaps with data collection and the numbers that we’re seeing.”
Young says in recent weeks, Van Buren and Cass County have experienced a notable increase in both flu and COVID-19 cases, posing a serious risk to the well-being of community members. Whether it’s too late to get the vaccine, Young says it’s not.
“It is never too late. Now, we all know when flu season is. It’s around those colder months and that’s when we really push to get people vaccinated just so they can get ahead of that spread of illness. But it is never too late to get any vaccination.”
Young encourages unvaccinated individuals to make a point to get the flu and COVID-19 vaccines. She says they’re readily available at local clinics, pharmacies, and VBCDHD facilities. They encourage anyone aged 6 months and older to receive their annual flu vaccine and ensure they are up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccinations.
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NOTE: To help VBCDHD better understand the community feelings on vaccines and to ensure their actions are serving the community, they ask residents to participate in this survey. The department says the survey is completely anonymous, and results will not be shared outside of designated health department staff.
