Some hospitals in the valley are seeing an uptick in covid cases - causing some to be cautious this holiday. Recently, the Austintown Senior Center announced it will stay closed Thanksgiving week after a covid exposure. 

“A lot of patients come in (to the hospital) … were finding covid on an incidental finding,” Dr. Dee Banks, an infectious disease physician, said about the uptick. 

It’s happening at the same time as a vaccine fatigue.

“We tend to get a false sense of security,” Dr. Banks said. 

The CDC reported that only 17% of Americans got the covid booster that came out back in 2022. They haven't been tracking numbers for the new booster that came out in September of 2023 but even lower numbers are expected.

“That's the one that works against this virus,” Dr. Ben Neuman, a virologist from Texas A&M-Texarkana said about the new vaccine. “The guard is all the way down right now.” 

An increase in respiratory illnesses is typical this time of year because of traveling and get-togethers. Ryan Tekac, the Mahoning County Health Commissioner said it's not something to be afraid of, just something to be aware of for the vulnerable population. 

“We know that there's individuals that are out there that are a little bit higher at risk, typically those who are older and those who are younger,” he said. “So, we want to make sure that we’re protecting our loved ones.”

The biggest tip from health officials is to stay home if you're feeling sick. Some are also recommending people re-think multi generational get-togethers - leaving older grandparents away from a large crowd of people. 

And while protecting against covid, the flu should be the next concern with health experts saying it's not too late into the season to get vaccinated. 

Meanwhile, RSV is not as big of a concern in the Mahoning Valley, so doctors recommend talking to your health care physician about if you should get the new RSV vaccine. 

“All three are around. I think we have to be aware of that and that's why we definitely need to take those measures to protect ourselves such as vaccinations,” Tekac said.