Oklahoma schools close, go virtual due to surge in illness
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - A surge in illnesses prompted at least a dozen Oklahoma schools to close or go virtual on Friday.
- Ardmore City Schools: Virtual Learning
- Cordell Schools: Virtual Learning
- Deer Creek School District: Virtual Learning
- Earlsboro Public Schools: Virtual Learning
- Edmond Public Schools: Closed
- El Reno Public Schools: Virtual Learning
- Guthrie Public Schools: Virtual Learning
- Mid-Del Schools: Virtual Learning
- Mustang Public Schools: Virtual Learning
- Norman Public Schools: Closed
- Oklahoma City Public Schools: Virtual Learning
- Piedmont Public Schools: Closed
- Yukon Public Schools: Closed
This comes as the state is currently seeing a high flu positivity rate and a high number of hospitalizations.
"Sometimes you just run out of personnel to adequately run a school,” said Dr. Douglas Drevets, the Chief of Infectious Diseases at OU Health. “It becomes a pretty tricky problem."
The latest available data from the Oklahoma State Health Department shows that the flu positivity rate is up to 34.3%, which is considered above baseline.
The dashboard also shows that the state is currently seeing more than 500 flu hospitalizations. The week of January 18, that number was about 350.
"The numbers of hospitalizations are around two and a half times what they are in a normal or an average flu year… It's quite an epidemic, so to speak,” said Dr. Drevets. “The numbers of hospitalizations are around two and a half times what they are in a normal or an average flu year."
Dr. Drevets says his best guess as to why so many people are sick right now is because the predominant circulating flu strain and the flu vaccine may not be a great match.
"Most of the time, it works reasonably well. Some years it just doesn't, because, you know, the flu is a pretty cagey virus, and it mutates rapidly, and so you can have a major mutation within a few months, and then you have what we call a mismatch,” said Dr. Drevets.
Despite this, he still recommends getting vaccinated.
"The flu vaccine does save lives,” said Dr. Drevets. “We typically think that it may turn a fatal case into a bad case, and a bad case into a less bad, less severe case, if it doesn't prevent it."