CANON CITY — A doctor in Canon City says protecting yourself from the flu also protects others who are most vulnerable to the disease. Doctor Steve Simerville is speaking out after an elderly person in Canon City died from the flu last Friday.
For patient privacy, details are limited. Simerville who is Medical Director at Saint Thomas More Hospital said, “An elderly person with influenza.” Elderly people and children face the most risk from the flu.
The death is worst case, but not isolated. Flu is rapidly spreading right now. "A grim reminder that we need to take steps to prevent the spread of flu to the elderly and the young,” said Simerville, In Fremont County 11 people have been hospitalized so far this flu season. In Pueblo County the number of flu hospitalizations is 51 and in El Paso County it is nearly 110. The number is 765 for all of Colorado. The numbers represent only a fraction of flu cases because tallies only show hospital cases.
It is still early in flu season. Simerville says get a flu shot. "The flu shot, it is true, does not always prevent you from getting the flu entirely, but it does prevent flu hospitalizations and that’s the goal. We're trying to not die from the flu." Also, wash your hands and if you are sick stay home, so others are not exposed to your bug.
