Jackson County Public Health reports 17 new COVID-19 cases as of 12:01 am on October 15, 2020. These updates bring the total reported COVID-19 cases in Jackson County to 1,430. To access additional data on the total COVID-19 cases, visit the Situation in Jackson County, Oregon webpage, or the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard website.
For week 41 (October 4 –October 10), Jackson County reported 103 new COVID-19 cases (47 cases per 100,000 population). This is a 3% decrease in cases from the previous week. Jackson County had a test positivity rate of 6.2%, a 7% increase from the previous week.
2019-2020 Influenza Season
Jackson County Public Health recommends annual influenza (flu) vaccination for everyone 6 months and older with any licensed, age-appropriate flu vaccination. It is best to get your flu vaccination by the end of October. However, as long as flu viruses are circulating, vaccination should continue, even in January or later.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses, like flu, this fall and winter is more important than ever. Flu vaccination has important benefits. It can reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits, and missed work and school due to flu and prevent flu-related hospitalizations and deaths. The flu vaccines are safe and effective at keeping yourself and those around healthier this flu season and during the pandemic. A flu vaccine this season can also help reduce the burden on our healthcare systems responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and save medical resources for the care of COVID-19 patients.
Flu season in the United States typically peaks in December through February, but it can vary in different parts of the country and from season to season.
The Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) estimates that during the 2019–2020 season, 38 million people were ill, 18 million people went to a health care provider, 400,000 were hospitalized, and 22,000 died with influenza. The season was characterized by two consecutive waves of activity, beginning with influenza B viruses and followed by A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses.
Flu vaccination in the U.S. during the 2019-2020 flu season prevented an estimated:
- 7.5 million flu illnesses
- 105,000 flu hospitalizations
- 6,300 flu deaths
This fall and winter, we must take extra precautions to prevent the spread of flu and COVID-19. Take these everyday preventative actions to stop the spread of germs:
- Get your annual flu vaccination
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- Limit your contact with others if you are sick
- Wear a mask
- Cover your coughs and sneezes
- Wash your hands
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that are frequently touched
- Watch your distance
For more information on the Differences between Flu and COVID-19 please visit the CDC website.
For more information on COVID-19:
The public can call 211-information with general questions
OHA Emerging Respiratory Disease page: www.healthoregon.org/coronavirus
CDC COVID-19 page: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
CDC Travel within the US: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html
Jackson County Health and Human Services: http://jacksoncountyor.org/hhs/COVID-19
Oregon COVID-19 Testing Location Finder: https://govstatus.egov.com/or-oha-covid-19-testing
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