MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Two weeks ago, the CDC reported that Ohio had moderate levels of the flu, and now those levels are high.
>>RELATED: Flu activity ‘very high’ across state, Ohio Department of Health says
Tuesday at 6 p.m., News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott talked to a man who recently recovered from the flu.
He said it was so bad he could barely walk.
“This is really beating on me like this is kind of scary,” Fairborn resident Jason Page said.
Page said he got the flu after the holidays.
“I got the cold chills so bad to where it took me at least 30 seconds to set my phone down on the counter,” he said.
The flu isn’t the only respiratory illness on the rise. RSV and COVID-19 are spiking as well.
According to the CDC, RSV diagnoses are up 15% from last week.
>>RELATED: Ohio Department of Health reports first flu-related pediatric death of season
Last week, there were 629 COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
“People are pretty miserable. They’re not real happy, they don’t feel great,” Premier Health Regional Medical Director Joseph Allen said.
Just before Page began suffering from the flu, his baby girl had to go to the hospital for various illnesses.
“They tested her for a lot of stuff. They came back with COVID, the flu, RSV, and strep throat,” Page said.
The baby was kept in the hospital for a couple of days due to three serious viruses and an infection.
“A trip to Dayton Children’s for two days. I was a little scared but as long as she was getting the help that she needed,” Page said.
>>RELATED: ‘The very beginning;’ Local hospitals fill up as respiratory-related illnesses rise
Allen said he was not surprised the CDC and Ohio Department of Health reported that the state has high flu cases.
“We’re seeing a large increase in those numbers and folks coming in with those symptoms,” Allen said.
Page was surprised at how his body reacted to the flu, he is rethinking how he handles his health for the first time in 42 years.
Page said he will probably get the flu shot from here on out, after what he went through this year.
Allen said cases will probably continue through January and then dip off come February.
We will most likely see a spike in flu cases in the Spring, he said.
For more information on Ohio’s current flu activity, visit the Ohio Department of Health’s website.