Local doctors with two healthcare networks are warning about dangerous and increasing cases of flu and COVID in the state.

There were 23 deaths in Connecticut from COVID last month and officials say flu cases are rising rapidly. Doctors say in part because of holiday parties and the recent cold spell.

Doctors say there is a variant of the influenza A virus right now that has mutations and it is sneaking through our immune system defenses.

The CDC says Connecticut is rated high for disease activity.

There have been 18,000 cases of flu in our state so far this season and hundreds of hospitalizations.

Infectious disease doctor Scott Roberts with Yale New Haven Health says to make matters worse, fewer people are getting vaccinated.

Doctors say those home test kits may not be as accurate as you think. The PCR test at your doctors office is the best test.

"There have been 7 million cases of flu diagnosed in the United States so far this year and that number is just going to get higher. We just hit peak flu season and the CDC has reported that there's been twice as many flu cases detected over the past week as there were the prior week. So coming off the holidays and coming off some cold weather, we're going to see many more flu cases," said Doctor Andrew Wong with Hartford Healthcare.

Doctors say the best defense against these viruses is what they're been preaching - masking up and washing hands.