Gabrielle Sweeney, COVID-19 Data Manager and Epidemiologist for Camden County said, “This increase in numbers across the board was something that we did anticipate just after the Thanksgiving holiday. And as we’re entering the colder months, people will be gathering indoors more, and we know that that’s a common source of exposure. And through our contact-tracing efforts at the county, our top three sources of exposure that we’re seeing right now are: the household and family contact, that’s number one. Then it would be exposed at the workplace and at social gatherings.”
The question of how the flu would impact the region was also discussed at the hearing. Condaluci said, “It’s difficult and you may not be able to distinguish the symptoms from COVID or influenza. They’re both respiratory viruses, meaning they affect lungs … and they can cause fevers, muscle aches, cough symptoms such as those. They’re very similar in that response. So, you might not be able to differentiate between the two viruses without testing, for example. Ways to prevent that: Of course, we have vaccinations for both, and the influenza is in our area. And so, there is a worry that it could be a bad flu season.” He said the reason for the thought is that immunity is built up against the flu on a year-to-year basis and because of the lockdown there weren’t many cases of the flu last year or people exposed to it.
The county is continuing to run a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Blackwood campus of Camden County College in addition to area health centers. They are considering whether or not to add flu vaccinations at the college site.