COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina's health agency has confirmed the first flu-related death in the state for the current season.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) said Friday that the death happened in the Midlands but did not specify which county.
"While we can’t predict what the upcoming flu season will bring, we, like other states, are preparing for significant flu activity this year," said Dr. Linda Bell, State Epidemiologist and DHEC’s Director of the Bureau of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control. "It’s critical that everyone get their flu shot now, at the start of the season, as we’re already seeing widespread circulation of the virus.”
Medical experts nationally are concerned that this may be severe flu season, and South Carolina's top health agency agrees. The flu season began on Oct. 1, and in one week, the state saw 788 lab-confirmed cases of the virus and 33 hospitalizations.
“There is the potential for a severe flu season in South Carolina and nationally based on what we’ve seen in the Southern Hemisphere,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, DHEC Public Health Director. “Australia has just experienced one of its worst flu seasons in years, and that may mean that we, too, will experience a flu season that’s much more severe than what we’ve been accustomed to the last few years. Please don’t wait to get your flu shot."
People can prevent the flu with the same techniques that protect against COVID-19, including masks, vaccination, handwashing, and staying home or away from others while sick.
DHEC and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say everyone over the age of six months and older should get the seasonal flu vaccine. They say children, pregnant women, people 65 and older, and those with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart or lung disease are most at risk. However, they say healthy people can also have complications.
DHEC says the flu vaccine is available from many providers, including DHEC health departments, doctors' offices, clinics, pharmacies, schools, and workplaces. They add that people can get the flu and COVID vaccine at the same time.
Flu vaccines offered at DHEC health department clinics are available by appointment. Call 1-855-472-3432 to make an appointment or go to scdhec.gov/fluclinics to find the nearest location. More information about preventing the flu is available at scdhec.gov/flu.