Over the last few weeks, flu cases have started to climb rapidly in Alabama, sending more people to the emergency room, public health officials say.

“So, we know people are being diagnosed with flu,” said Dr. Wes Stubblefield, a medical officer with the state health department. “We know people have flu. We know it’s in all public health districts in Alabama right now.”

As of Dec. 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention categorized the state’s flu numbers as “very high.” And according to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s respiratory illness dashboard, more than 6% of ER visits in the state were flu related as of last week.

Dr. Scott Harris, the state health officer, previously predicted a “normal” flu season this winter, which would be around 3% of total ER visits being flu related.

“We’ve seen [emergency department] percentages go from less than 1% up to around 6-7% just in the last few weeks,” Stubblefield told AL.com today.

Stubblefield said the numbers are expected to continue climbing, as flu cases typically peak around the first of the year.

“Historically, flu always peaks around the first of the year,” he said. “But it’s interesting to look back over the past few years. COVID did throw some of that off because of protections people were taking during the pandemic.

“But it’s really hard to know when those cases will start to decrease,” he added.

In the meantime, Stubblefield said flu vaccines are one of the best tools people can use to keep themselves healthy.

“We know that the flu can affect anyone,” he said. “If you’ve had the vaccine, it’s less likely to get the flu, but it’s also much less likely to have severe flu. And severe flu is what we worry about. That’s the kind of flu that puts you in the hospital and makes you severely ill.”

He added that people can still get the vaccine if they have the flu but warned that it will take a couple of weeks to take effect.

“The other thing that we always talk about is just general good measures for people to do during this time of year,” he said.

Stubblefield said Alabamians should take precautions to protect themselves and others from the flu.

“You know, protecting those that are at highest risk, especially making sure that you stay home if you’re sick, if your children are sick, try to avoid contact with those that might have higher risk for severe flu, like older individuals, people in long term care, nursing homes, things like that.”

He added: “Other things we talk about is good respiratory etiquette, you know, just coughing into your elbow, keeping your hands clean, increasing ventilation and then it just staying in, generally healthy, good sleep, stress management, you know, good diet. All of those things are very important.”