San Diego Hospitals Warn of Fifth Surge Involving COVID and Flu

The good news about COVID-19 in San Diego County is that the number of new cases is down from a few weeks ago.

But the bad news is what officials with our county’s hospitals told members of the San Diego City Council this week. They say they are preparing for a fifth surge.

As the Chief Information Officer and Associate Chief Medical Officer at U-C San Diego Health told council members, “We are expecting a winter surge…. a “twindemic” of both flu and COVID…with reduced public health measures, both COVID and flu making a resurgence at the same time.” 

With the more than 77 percent of residents in San Diego County now fully vaccinated, you would think the worst would be behind us. But as cases have increased over these last couple of months, these hospital officials say that more health care workers are getting burned out, and not wanting to work as much overtime as they did during most of the pandemic.

They say their employees have been hard hit emotionally because almost all the patients they care for and those they can’t save have been unvaccinated. Some vaccinated people do get these breakthrough infections, but almost none of them become serious.

So, the plea from the hospitals and doctors, is to get vaccinated for COVID and get the flu shot too and maybe that 5th surge won’t happen.

(Photo Getty Images)