Officials at Rochester Regional Health are reminding the public that vaccine season is here. The health system held a news conference on Wednesday to answer questions about vaccines and respiratory illnesses.

They say the level of COVID cases right now is a major indicator that vaccines are working. Rochester Regional hospitals say they are seeing around 70 to 90 patients with COVID per day. 

Doctors say the severity of the illness has declined since the pandemic with only about 5-6% of COVID patients ending up in the ICU locally. That number was around 30% at the height of the pandemic. That means the community is mounting a resistance to the virus through vaccination and previous exposures, according to physicians.

Rochester Regional says there is currently very little activity from RSV and influenza, but they anticipate infections will increase over the next several weeks. They're now reminding people to get shots to protect against these viruses as people start to spend more time inside during the colder months ahead.

"That provides an important window of opportunity right now for people to get their vaccinations so that they are prepared for the inevitable wave of exposure that will be coming in the forthcoming weeks," said Dr. Rob Mayo, chief medical officer for Rochester Regional Health.

Doctors say the vaccines reduce the likelihood of contracting a respiratory disease and can also reduce the severity of illness if you do get sick.