Hospital ER Visits For Flu Increasing Across Kane County

KANE COUNTY, IL — Flu season is in full swing across the U.S. and Kane County, and there's still time to get an influenza vaccine if you're considering doing so, as the percentage of emergency room visits due to flu continues to increase across Kane County. According to the Kane County Health Department's Weekly Influenza Surveillance Summary released Friday, a reported 6.1 percent of hospital emergency room visits were for influenza-like illness in Kane County from Dec. 15 through Dec. 21. This is up from 4.5 percent the previous week.

Young children ages up to 4 made up 31.7 percent of visits for influenza-like illness to reporting emergency rooms during week 51, the health department said, which is a decrease from previous weeks.

County health officials said the percentage of flu-related absenteeism for public schools in Kane County was 0.27 percent this week, but no public schools were closed due to increased flu-related illness activity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during most seasons, about 80 percent of children who die are not vaccinated.

The agency cited a study that says the vaccine reduces the risk of death among healthy children by 65 percent and among children with a high-risk condition by 50 percent.

Related: America's Health Rankings 2019: Where Illinois Ranks

It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to provide protection against the flu. You can find more information about the flu vaccine and its benefits here.

You can use the CDC's flu vaccine finder to locate a pharmacy or clinic near you that provides the vaccine.

According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu include:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills (although not everyone with flu will have a fever)
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue (tiredness)
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, although this is more common in children than adults.