Clues from the Southern Hemisphere suggest Colorado has a relatively normal flu season ahead, but experts are less certain about how COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus will behave this fall and winter.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s forecasting center projected the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19, flu and RSV combined would be similar to what it was last year, or slightly lower, director Dr. Mandy Cohen said during a press briefing on Aug. 23.
But the projection could be off if the forecasters misjudged how many people will get vaccinated, she said. The CDC assumed vaccine uptake will be similar to last year, when fewer than half of adults got a flu shot and less than one-quarter got an updated COVID-19 vaccine.
“The power is in our hands,” she said.