Hamilton County Public Health Administrator Shelby Kroona is pictured, left, with Pam Harklau, who will succeed Kroona as HCPH administrator in February. Kroona is retiring. For more about that, see Progress in today's Daily Freeman-Journal.

Flu season in the United States begins in October, and ordinarily peaks sometime from December to February. In some years, though, it has been known to drag on until late May.

If the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services weekly Iowa Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report is correct, flu season peaked sometime in December 2023, and is now in slow, steady decline.

Similarly, COVID-19 cases, which tend to rise after large groups of people gather indoors — Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day — seems to have passed its 2023-24 seasonal peak.

Recently, the Daily Freeman Journal sat down with Hamilton County Public Health Administrator Shelby Kroona to ask about the status of both covid and flu in the county.

“It’s very typical for us to see these peaks in January or February each year,” she said.

COVID-19

Kroona said “COVID-19 is no longer a reportable disease in Iowa, and we don’t have county-specific data, either for it or flu.”

In April 2023, Iowa stopped reporting covid-19 incidence data to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first state to take such action. Shortly thereafter, on May 11, 2023, the federal government officially declared an end to the pandemic public health emergency. This move effectively curtailed the CDC’s authority to mandate collection of pandemic-related activity.

Without official data, Kroona and public health administrators in other Iowa counties must rely on anecdotal evidence, little more than a gut-feel for what’s really happening.

“At the Webster City Public Health office, we’ve administered about 300 doses of the Moderna vaccine (trade name Spikevax), versus closer to 500 a year ago.”

Kroona believes the lower number of immunizations may be due to “vaccine fatigue.”

She continued, “People find it difficult to keep track of all the vaccines they could, or should, be getting.”

Another factor is the sheer number of places COVID vaccines are now distributed, and none of those places are any longer required to report the number of people vaccinated.

According to the Iowa Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report for the final week of 2023, 260 people in Iowa were hospitalized with COVID. Four people died from COVID that week. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reported in its December 12, 2023 edition: “There were about 885 deaths in Iowa related to COVID-19 for the 12 months ending September 30, 2023.”

Hamilton County Public Health still has COVID vaccine available, and it’s free to everyone, regardless of whether you have health insurance or not. Kroona clarified the vaccine is free through most private and public health insurance plans. The CDC’s bridge access program has funding to provide free COVID boosters for the uninsured through December 2024. Kroona advised anyone with questions about this to phone the Webster City Clinic at phone number below.

Both the US Center for Disease Control, and the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services recommend everyone five years and older be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Hamilton County Public Health’s office, at 1610 Collins Street, Webster City, is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. No appointment is necessary, but phone ahead to ensure a nurse is available to give you the injection. The phone number is 515-832-9565.

Influenza

As with COVID, Iowa has stopped compiling influenza-related health data. The Iowa Health and Human Services website says: “Individual cases of influenza are not reportable in Iowa, although the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS) does require that cases of novel influenza outbreaks be reported. (Author’s note: a “novel” case is one caused by a new, previously unknown strain of flu). As most cases of flu are not reported, Iowa HHS relies on voluntary reporting from laboratories, schools, vital records, hospitals, care facilities, and outpatient health clinics to monitor influenza activity in Iowa.”

Kroona, again citing her own, personal observations at the Hamilton County Public Health clinic, said: “We’ve definitely given fewer flu shots this season.”

She quickly points out, though, that doesn’t mean people aren’t getting vaccinated.

“There are so many places to get flu vaccines — doctor’s offices, clinics, pharmacies, grocery stores, and many people have an annual habit of getting flu shots,” she noted.

Again, referring to the Iowa Respiratory Surveillance Report for the last week of December 2023, more than 4,700 influenza tests were given statewide. Just short of 800 people tested positive for one of the prevalent strains of flu, about 16.9%. Seventy-three Iowans were hospitalized due to flu that final week of the year, while two died from complications due to influenza.

The national Centers for Disease Control rate flu transmission in Iowa on the low end of the “moderate” scale. Both Wisconsin and Illinois have much higher rates of influenza, while flu outbreaks in Minnesota and Nebraska are lower than in Iowa and rated “minimal” by the CDC.

Kroona stressed: “It’s not too late to get a flu shot for this season, and we have plenty of vaccine available right now.”

Flu shots for those without health insurance cost $25 per injection at the Public Health Clinic.

The most common flu strains in Iowa this winter are Influenza-A and Influenza-B, with the A strain most prevalent. Both are easily detected with a simple blood test. How dangerous are these flus?

“That depends on many factors,” Kroona said. “People with chronic diseases, compromised immune systems, long COVID, the elderly or the young are at greatest risk. Getting vaccinated is the best way to ensure you have a milder case.”

Studies show Influenza-A and B are equally capable of putting adults in the hospital and causing death. For children, however, Influenza-B is responsible for more severe symptoms and carries a higher risk of death.