Lubbock, Texas — The City of Lubbock Health Department gave EverythingLubbock.com an update on Friday on what is going around in Lubbock.
Katherine Wells, Director of Public Health for the City of Lubbock said there are two different things she is seeing in the community.
The first risk is the rise of respiratory illnesses, especially during the flu season.
Those illnesses include the flu, COVID and RSV.
Wells said “It’s a virus that, you know, a similar to you know, it’s in effect the respiratory system and it can cause severe illness. Really, everybody’s at risk for a respiratory virus”
But the other risk Wells said was rapidly growing in the town was syphilis.
Wells explains that it’s seen in the youth community in the age group of 18- to 30-year-olds.
“We’re seeing it in communities that, you know, have had multiple sexual partners,” Wells said. “But then we’re also seeing it in people that are impacted by drugs and alcohol or IV drug users or maybe, you know, have had more sexual encounters being tied in with substance use disorder or substance using substances.”
The Health Department does have vaccines for most adults and vaccines for all children.
Wells said, “We’re just excited that that we can offer those additional vaccines here in the community. So we’re really now talking about respiratory season because we have three vaccines on the market that individuals can take to reduce the likelihood of getting those viruses or reducing the side effects of getting them.”
Wells also explained if an individual is at risk for syphilis talk to a professional and discuss treatment options.
