It's not peak flu season yet, but Palmhurst pharmacist Andre Estrada is already seeing the impact.

Estrada estimates his pharmacy location writes 30 to 40 prescriptions for the flu medication Tamiflu weekly.

That's in line with new data showing the Rio Grande Valley holds a title no one wants.

The latest data from the Walgreens flu index shows the Valley as the number one spot in the country for flu cases. 

To determine this, Walgreens uses the amount of flu medications prescribed at their locations nationwide.

“And we've held that spot for four weeks running now,” Estrada said.

Hidalgo County Health & Human Services Chief Administrative Officer Eduardo “Eddie” Olivarez said the high number of cases doesn't necessarily surprise him, but he's not sure that it's accurate.

“A lot of times, people are wanting to get relief for the flu, wanting to get relief for viral infections, and it's just easy to just prescribe Tamiflu,” Olivarez said.

Olivarez says because flu cases are tracked differently around the country, it's hard to determine where the highest number of cases are.

The current local numbers still worry him. 

“For the first time since we've been tracking Covid numbers and flu numbers, we actually have more flu cases in the hospital than we have Covid cases, “Olivarez said. 

Olivarez also had a message for those worried about it being too late to get your flu shot.

“Flu season is barely starting,” Olivarez said.