Marin County flu cases surge as hospital beds and Tamiflu run low
POINT REYES STATION, Calif. - Hospital beds in Marin County are filling up with patients and nearing capacity.
The leading virus sending people to the hospital this winter is the flu, though COVID cases are also on the rise. At the same time, pharmacies are having a tough time keeping Tamiflu on their shelves.
At West Marin Pharmacy in Point Reyes Station, pharmacist Zsuzsanna Biran, who has co-owned the business with her husband for the past 15 years, said demand for flu medicine in recent weeks has surpassed anything she's dealt with in the past.
"I have not seen it this bad, especially this early in the season," Biran said. "And we've run out of flu medication."
The pharmacy ran out of Tamiflu almost two weeks ago, and is down to its last bottle of children's liquid Tylenol.
"We've run out of it [Tamiflu] and we can't even replace it by purchasing more from the wholesaler because they're also out," Biran said.
Pharmacies across the country are also running out of Tamiflu.
Point Reyes Station is in a more rural part of Marin County, but some of Biran's customers have been successful in getting their Tamiflu prescription filled at larger pharmacies, driving an hour or more to get them.
Marin County's Deputy Health Officer doctor Lael Duncan said Marin County's Department of Health and Human Services is currently assessing the county's supply of Tamiflu, and is prepared to respond if the cuotny enters a shortage.
"We are seeing more hospitalizations due to influenza than due to COVID," Duncan said.
Across all three hospitals in Marin County, patient beds are in short supply.
"Are beds still available? Yes they are. Will people get the care they need? Absolutely," Duncan said, noting that "if you're not super sick, you're going to have to wait for that care."
Marin County's wastewater sampling indicates that influenza, COVID and RSVP are still circulating at high levels and increasing, Duncan said, and the viruses may not peak until early January.
"That means we have a couple of challenging weeks ahead of us that are going to put a stress on our healthcare system," Duncan said, "and be worrisome for those in our community that are most at risk."