KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Across the United States, some places have seen flu outbreaks. Local doctors and experts said the flu is here and it's time to prepare.
"We are starting to see an uptick in flu A just in the last couple of days," Knoxville pediatrician Michael Green said.
Green said that on Monday morning he already had four positive flu tests done.
According to the CDC, on average, flu cases rise between the months of December and February. This year, flu season arrived a little bit earlier.
"Flu season is approaching," Green said.
While cases are on the rise, there's good news for Knox County. Knox County Health Department director of nursing, Dena Mashburn, said the numbers are relatively low in Knox County.
"From the information we have, there don't seem to be too many cases out there of it," Mashburn said.
According to the CDC, Tennessee has minimal cases of the flu. KCHD said the flu vaccine can help keep those numbers down.
"The flu vaccine has been updated this year based on what we learned last year," Mashburn said.
Vanderbilt Medical Center infectious disease specialist, David Aronoff, said it's normal to see an uptick in cases amongst younger people, especially at colleges.
"We should expect that where we see young people getting together during flu season, we are going to see influenza activity," Aronoff said.
Local experts and doctors continued to emphasize getting the flu shot.
"If you haven't had a chance to get a flu shot, go get a flu shot because it's coming," Green said.
Green said it's important to know it's safe to get your flu shot and COVID vaccine at the same time. He said it's best to get your vaccines before going home for the holidays.