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Worried about a one-two punch from a bad flu season combined with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials are urging Whatcom County residents to get the this year.

The fear is that too many people could be hospitalized because of what’s been called a  straining the health care system.

“We’re strongly recommending people get their influenza vaccine. A primary reason is that flu can cause people to be severely ill and need hospital services,” said Dr. Greg Stern, Whatcom County health officer. “If we can do everything we can to avoid that, we’ll be reserving hospital capacity to take care of things that aren’t preventable.”