Visit Doctor Now Before Flu Season Worsens: Loudoun Health Chief

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Loudoun County's top health official is urging residents to get their annual health checkups and other procedures out of the way now before the worst part of the flu season begins later this year.

David Goodfriend, director of the Loudoun County Health Department, told the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Tuesday that people have been putting off going to see the doctor since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March.

"This is the time to do it. Do it before the respiratory season starts," Goodfriend said about residents going to see their doctors.

Every year starting around Thanksgiving and all the way through winter, doctor’s offices and emergency departments at hospitals start to get busier, he said.

"They're not that busy right now," Goodfriend said. "This is the time to go if you’ve been putting off your annual checkup, your mammogram, your vaccinations. Do it now, get it out of the way before we get busier this winter."

Goodfriend also told the board members that Loudoun County is seeing a small uptick in the number of positive coronavirus cases.

The number of new positive cases is climbing from 30 per day on average in Loudoun County to about 40 new cases, he said. On Wednesday, Loudoun reported 35 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the cumulative total to 7,634 since the start of the pandemic. As of Wednesday, 130 Loudoun residents have died from the disease.

Goodfriend attributed the daily increase in coronavirus cases to people becoming more lax in their efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. People are having parties in their homes, going out to restaurants and attending sporting events.

"Folks are not doing as much as they had before to try to prevent infection, so we’re seeing a number of small outbreaks," he said.

Health experts believe there is going to be a second wave of the coronavirus later this year. "The virus likes cold weather," he said. "In all likelihood, it will be worse than what we have now."

"This is the time before we hit that second wave to really think about the activities we’re doing that contribute to transmission," Goodfriend said, suggesting the public rethink their plans for Halloween parties, election night parties, or football watching parties.

He also told the board that the Loudoun County Health Department is making plans for when the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available. The department plans to start vaccinating the high-risk groups "as quickly possible," he said.

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