Flu Hospitalizations Down Significantly in Mesa County

It was a good,  wet and snowy winter in western Colorado, and apparently, it's been a good flu season as well.

According to Mesa County Public Health, there have been 110 flu-related hospitalizations in the county so far this season compared to 220 hospitalizations at this time last year.

The flu season is gradually dissipating with just three hospitalizations reported in the past week.

Age is definitely a factor when it comes to the seriousness of the flu. Over 60% of those hospitalized in Mesa County have been 55 years old or older. The second largest group of hospitalizations is children ages 0-4. The good news is, the county reports no pediatric flu deaths this season.

I've been pretty fortunate the past couple of years to escape that nasty flu bug. No, I don't get the flu shot, nor have I ever had one. I try to be careful with my interactions with people in public, workout regularly, eat healthily, and get plenty of rest. However, there really is no magical formula for avoiding the flu. You could do all the right things and still get the flu, so sometimes you just have to be lucky.