CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — With flu season underway getting closer to its usual peak in late December through March, UVA Student Health and Wellness is keeping the public informed on case numbers this year with its new online Flu Tracker.

“We’re always looking for ways here at UVA student health to be sort of more transparent,” Dr. Michael Patrizio, associate director for Acute Care told Cville Right Now, “and make it obvious or more easy to access for our students and our local community to understand the types of things that are happening around Grounds and the types of illnesses we are seeing, and those sorts of things.”

The tracker, which is available on UVA’s Medical Services website, is updated weekly with the number of flu diagnoses, whether through a test or clinical diagnosis, among students who visit the university’s Health and Wellness Center.

While the tracker relies on diagnosis’s from the center, Patrizio said “there isn’t a necessity” for students with mild cold or flu symptoms to come into the center, as there are at-home flu tests available and most students without chronic health condition won’t need any specific treatment.

“It’s okay to stay at home to isolate away from others and to take care of yourself at home with over-the-counter medications,” he said.

As a result, Patrizio said while the tracker is underreporting the number of flu cases, which is a common problem of other similar infectious disease trackers like those used during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the value of the tracker lies in the ability to see the patterns in case numbers base on numbers that are known.

“Even if we can’t count on knowing that the precise numbers, the absolute numbers are entirely accurate,” he said. “When we see these patterns, like you see on the Flu Tracker, these spikes … while the absolute number of students who had the flu during those weeks was likely higher than the number we’re reporting, that trend is clearly an important indicator of what’s happening on Grounds.”

Ultimately, Patrizio hopes the tracker encourages students to make informed decisions during flu season. In particular, he encouraged getting the flu vaccine sooner rather than later, as rates of vaccination rates have been decreasing across the board in the United States, and data from other countries like the United Kingdom and Japan are indicating sooner and more significant flu activity.

“I recommend that everybody go and get a flu shot, and the sooner the better,” he said. “There’s no time like the present for that. It does take about two weeks after you receive the flue shot to get the full level of protective immunity from that.”

Patrizio added that it is unclear just how effect this year’s shot will be, but early data from outside the United State indicate it is “decently protective” against the strains of flu that are circulating, and the shot will certainly reduce the risk of hospitalization and serious illness.

“Get your flu shots and get them as soon as you can,” he said.