Doctors seeing more COVID-19 cases in Kentuckiana as school year begins

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's back-to-school season for thousands of Kentuckiana students, but that also means cold and flu season isn't far behind.

"I'll be honest: Our COVID numbers are up," Clark County Health Officer Dr. Eric Yazel said Monday. "Every year, we've seen this right as school starts."

However, Yazel said the good news is that the cases haven't been as severe as in years past, when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted classes and shut down in-person learning.

"It's night and day different," he said. "Those used to be really, really challenging days."

Denis Agovic, who has two daughters heading to Valiant Christian Academy: one in kindergarten and one in first grade.

"They're more excited than we are to go back because they just love school," Agovic said. "They love their teachers, which is good to me, because that's what I care about the most. They get a good education and they feel safe where they're at."

Agovic said he's hoping, with his daughters in elementary school now, they're past some of the bugs they picked up during their day care days. He also said his family feels prepared for this school year.

"I mean, at this point, like, (COVID) doesn't really bother me," he said. "I mean, we've gone through it. We've all been vaccinated, so we're good to go."

Of course, parents know kids often pick up more than homework when they return to the classroom.

"COVID is alive and well, unfortunately. And it is out there," said UofL Health's Dr. Mark Burns, who said he's seeing a few more patients now with COVID-19 than in the previous few months.

Yazel said there may have been some cases during the summer that weren't on the radar like they are now with school starting.

"Probably some of it is just more notable and recorded more," Yazel said. "If a kid is sick in the middle of June, when nobody's in school, we don't really know about it."

Students in Greater Clark County School returned to class Aug. 1, and Yazel said, overall, southern Indiana is off to a good start with no serious health problems.

"Little bit of nausea, vomiting, those kind of stomach bug sort of things, but nothing real profound or anything," he said. "And we really haven't had any of the schools reach out to us about high levels of absenteeism or things like that."

Burns said the latest COVID-19 vaccine isn't available yet but he expects it to come out this fall, sometime around September.

"We are hoping that everybody will take it, along with the flu shot," Burns said. "It is safe to take them both at the same time."

He believes the COVID-19 vaccine will be an annual shot, like the flu shot.

Aside from COVID, Yazel said doctors are focusing on heat-related illnesses, especially with outdoor sports practices.

"Stay on them about drinking enough fluids," he said. "Your natural thirst isn't enough. This time a year, if a kid is an athlete and out on the sport fields, they need to have a glass of water in their hand almost at all times."

According to the Louisville Metro Health Department, Dr. Kris Bryant with Norton Children's said there have been more sporadic cases of chicken pox, which can be prevented with a vaccine.

As for what to expect this winter, Yazel said it's too soon to tell. However, he said early flu data should be available in the next month or two from other areas, so that can provide a glimpse of what to expect locally for Kentuckiana.

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