Commissioners discuss influenza issues
ALBANY — Nearly three years of isolation and people wearing face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic likely suppressed the severity of influenza, but may now be a factor in why so many people in Linn County and across the country are feeling lousy, Dr. William Muth told the Board of Commissioners Tuesday morning.
Commissioner Will Tucker asked Dr. Muth — who is the Linn County Health Officer — about flu season which appears to have hit hard and early. Tucker said area hospitals are often finding it difficult to find an open bed.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services some 23,503 people were hospitalized with lab-confirmed flu last week, down from 25,906 the week before.
Dr. Muth noted that most of the country had isolated from public events since the COVID-19 pandemic was identified in March 2020. That included wearing face coverings when people ventured into public spaces.
Most people are no longer isolating, people have come back to their places of work and face coverings are no longer mandatory.
So, influenza strains had time to mutate and become more aggressive, Dr. Muth said.
“The influenza season hit early this year,” Dr. Muth said. “There were changes over the last couple years while influenza was held at bay. Not it’s out with a vengeance. It’s certainly more aggressive and it’s across the entire country. That’s the nature of these things.”
Dr. Muth added that the respiratory virus RSV is also strong this year. It affects young and old and was down during the pandemic due to the same precautionary measures.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are all highly contagious respiratory infections caused by viruses: The flu by influenza virus, COVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 virus, and RSV by respiratory syncytial virus. It is possible for a person to be infected with multiple viruses at the same time.
In other business, the commissioners:
- Learned there were 75 births (39 females 36 females) and 124 deaths in November.
- Approved a Support and Maintenance Agreement between the Linn County Sheriff’s Office and Siemens for the jail’s security system — including door controls, cameras and intercoms through Sept. 30, 2025.
- Approved continuation of an Intergovernmental Agreement for participation of the Linn County Sheriff’s Office in what is known as the Southwest 7, a program maintaining a Motorola radio system in Linn, Benton, Lane, Douglas, Josephine, Coos and Curry counties.
- Were informed there were 47 juvenile referrals to the Linn County Juvenile Department in November and there are 185 youth in the Probation Unit, either on probation or pending a court hearing. 40 are assessed as high-risk.
- Approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with the State of Oregon for the Accela permitting system through the Linn County Planning & Building Department.
- Will not meet on Dec. 27, unless business issues require it and the public will be notified at least 24 hours in advance. The next scheduled meeting will be at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Elected officials will be sworn in on Tuesday, Jan. 3, necessitating the shift in the board’s regular meeting schedule.
Media contact: Alex Paul, Linn County Communications Officer, 541-967-3825 or email apaul@co.linn.or.us.
