Even though we’ve made it halfway through the winter, we haven’t yet made it through flu season.

"We do see an earlier spike of flu A cases and then later on in the spring, right around this time of year, we actually tend to see a second spike of flu b infections,” said Marielena Velez de Brown, deputy commissioner for Monroe County Department of Health.

And it has less to do with the cold weather than you may think.

"It doesnt really have anything to do with the weather, other than that it's cold, and so folks tend to spend more time indoors, more time around other people," Velez de Brown said.

Health officials are also reminding people that it’s not just the flu to think about this time of year, as other respiratory illnesses like RSV and COVID are still prevalent.

"We’re really encouraging everyone to think about all three of those illnesses together kind of together in a similar manner because those are the viruses that folks can share in these winter months," Velez de Brown said.

Data from the New York State Department of Health shows that during the first week of February, over 1,300 people were hospitalized with the flu, a 12% increase in hospitalized cases compared with the previous week.

"With flu, with COVID, any of these respiratory viruses, every year the virus is going to mutate a little bit, is going to change. So thats why every year folks have to get a new vaccine," said Velez de Brown.

It's about making vaccines the best way to protect yourself and others and keep hospitalizations down.

"We definitely strongly recommend the flu vaccine, the covid vaccine and the RSV vaccine for general populations but especially for older folks and children," said Velez de Brown. "Every year we do see hospitalizations and deaths from these conditions and they are completely preventable if folks get there vaccines."