San Antonio – A San Antonio-area doctor tells us that an average healthy kid can get sick up to six times during the winter months, because viruses tend to thrive in colder weather.
Pediatrician Oziel Ortiz with Baptist Health System says there’s an influx of hospitalizations of kids who have underlying conditions and end up catching the flu or a cold. He says the number of sick children is much higher; they don’t make it to urgent care or a hospital for testing.
“Viruses do a little bit better during the winter in the context of the environment, the air is a little bit drier, which allows somebody’s droplets to hang out a little bit more in the air. That’s probably issue number one. Issue number two, in the content of community, we have more gatherings. And so we get a little closer to people. Our immune system doesn’t work as well through the winter. So that’s why we see a little bit more of these viruses through the winter,” he said.
The illnesses also affect school attendance. Anecdotally, some school district leaders say they see more classroom absences in January and February.
Three area school districts shared some of their data with KSAT, showing the average attendance in January and February — those numbers show a slight drop in attendance.
A breakdown of the attendance data can be viewed below.
San Antonio Independent School District
2023
- January: 88%
- February: 89.4%
- March: 89.2%
2024
- January: 87%
- February: 88.2%
- March: 89.6%
North East Independent School District
2023
- January: 90.7%
- February: 92.9%
- March: 93.2%
2024
- January: 91.9%
- February: 93%
- March: 93.5%
Comal Independent School District (the district only shared 2024 numbers)
2024
- January: 94.3%
- February: 93.53%
- March: 94.27%
Ortiz says teachers can do their part by keeping sanitizing wipes and spray on hand and using them in commonly used spaces, such as tables and counters.
He says using an alcohol based hand sanitizer before the kids enter the classroom and when they leave could also help.
Parents are encouraged to remind kids to practice good hygiene, such as washing their hands and covering their coughs or sneezes.
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