Flu Season

Thousands of acres of land in Butte County are now considered at ‘very high risk’ of wildfire after state officials rolled out updates to California’s fire hazard maps. Also, Butte County is reporting its first death from the flu this season, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife completed a project to fit 12 gray wolves with satellite tracking collars.

We’re in the trenches of cold and flu season, and officials say it’ll get worse before it gets better. North State doctors offer their experience and advice on avoiding this season’s ick.

Respiratory illness season is here. Healthcare professionals in Butte County give their advice for residents trying to beat the bug.

The state has awarded more than $91 million for affordable housing to ten California tribes. Also, a new tiny home village will soon open its doors in Redding, and healthcare professionals in Butte County give their advice for residents trying to beat seasonal illnesses.

A strain of influenza appears to have disappeared from the planet since COVID. As a result, U.S. flu vaccines have been redesigned.

A person in their 30s has been announced as the first person to die from complications of the flu in Butte County. The county’s public health department is advising residents to get a flu vaccine and stay home if feeling sick.

Health officials say getting your annual flu shot and the latest COVID-19 vaccine is the most effective way to prevent potentially serious respiratory illness.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has found four new gray wolf packs in California in addition to three existing packs in Lassen, Plumas and Siskiyou counties. Also, a disaster summit will be held by Cal OES this Friday in Chico to increase community understanding of emergency response systems, and local public health departments are starting to schedule flu vaccine clinics as flu season nears.

Influenza cases usually begin to increase in October in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While every flu season is different, one indicator of what this season might be like is to look at flu activity in countries in the southern hemisphere, which start earlier than those in the northern hemisphere.

Experts hope continued masking will reduce this season’s dual-threat of COVID and flu.