Joshua Drake, M.D., emergency medicine physician at Samaritan Hospital, was interviewed by WNYT for its story on the rise in respiratory infections in the Capital Region.
Dr. Drake said viruses like colds, flu, RSV, and COVID are prevalent across the area and state.
From the report:
“So the ER, since the flu really started to hit us, has been very, very busy, more so than even we’re used to around this time of year,” he said. “Unfortunately, because of the prevalence of flu that we’re seeing right now, we do have a significant portion of patients who are very ill and need to be hospitalized, and that makes it a little bit slower to take care of every other patient.”
If you have mild symptoms and think you need to be seen, contact your primary care provider or head to urgent care.
Click here to watch WNYT’s report.
