While the world awaits a COVID-19 vaccine and is waiting to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control, there is another impulse ready to be exact this fall.
That would be the flu, because America’s annual season of influence usually begins in October before peaking between December and February. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is very concerned about what will happen if the pandemic that has killed at least 200,000 Americans since March blossoms during flu season, which is responsible for between 12,000 and 61,000 deaths a year.
CDC Director Robert Redfield warned in a WebMD interview on Wednesday that America is looking for “the worst fall, from a public health perspective, we have ever had.”
This is not because cooler weather somehow makes the coronavirus worse, or that the heat of summer kills the virus, which has been a common misconception about the coronavirus. After all, autumn and winter are the time of influence to shine.
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“We’ll have COVID in the fall, and we’ll have the flu in the fall. And one of them may require certain hospital systems, “said Dr. Redfield. Note that many hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of coronavirus patients. There have also been reports of hospitals in New York, Texas and Arizona being cooling. trucks are called in to serve as temporary shelters to treat the number of dead bodies, and the flu has seen between 140,000 and 810,000 people hospitalized each year since 2010.
Both outbreaks can be devastating this fall. But one of them – flu – actually has a vaccine and treatment that can keep it under control. The problem is, less than half of the country (47%) got a flu shot last year. The CDC normally recommends that 60% to 70% of the country be affected by the flu to keep the virus under control. This year, Drs. Redfield that he pressed for 65% compliance.
And although the CDC normally buys about 500,000 doses of the vaccine each year for uninsured adults, this year Dr. Redfield that it has ordered an additional 10 million doses, for more than 190 million doses in total, to encourage everyone to be vaccinated for the flu.
Do not let that report on some seasons with some ineffective faxes off you. (For example, the effectiveness rate of the 2017-2018 vaccine was around 36%, which means that visiting flu-related doctors is cut by that amount.) The vaccine may still reduce your risk of complications or dying from the flu, even if you do get sick.
“If there’s one thing we can all do – besides the importance of wearing a mask, socially distancing ourselves from washing hands and being smart about meetings – that in principle ultimately prepares us for autumn, (it) is the flu vaccine. to get, “said Dr. Redfield. ‘So by getting that vaccine, you might be able to ignore the need to take up a hospital bed. And then that hospital bed may be more available to those who are potentially getting hospitalized for COVID. ”
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“This is a year that I’m asking people to think really deeply about getting the flu vaccine.”
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However, health officials are concerned that fears of catching COVID-19 in public could prevent people from seeking the flu vaccine or other essential medical care as the pandemic continues. In fact, less than half of Americans said they would get the COVID-19 vaccine if and when one becomes available.
Two-thirds of parents released in an Orlando Health report this week said they were “still nervous” about taking their children to the pediatrician because of the pandemic. The World Health Organization and UNICEF have also warned of “an alarming decline” in the number of children receiving life-saving vaccinations around the world as the coronavirus has spread.
And about half of families (48%) in a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey said they have a family member who has delayed receiving medical care during the pandemic, and one in 10 said the condition of their family member became less as a result. What’s more, because millions of Americans have lost their jobs, they have lost their health insurance to get this kind of preventative care.
If you are not insured, the shots usually run between $ 40 and $ 60 at drugstores like CVS CVS,
Walmart WMT,
and Target TGT,
like those with Costco COST,
or Sam’s Club memberships could get jabbed for just $ 20 or $ 30. You can also find health centers near you, or search for free and discounted vaccines for your state, at Vaccines.gov.
What’s more, Autumn also craves respiratory diseases such as the rhinovirus (one cause of the ‘common cold’) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – the latter being the most common cause of severe respiratory disease in young children, and a leading cause of respiratory disease in adults over 65. The good news is, safety precautions to prevent COVID-19 – such as frequent hand washing, social distancing and wearing face masks – can also help minimize the spread of these other viral respiratory infections. . These measures could also potentially lead to a less severe flu season.
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“If you ask me how ‘Thanksgiving’ will turn out, I think it just depends on how the American people choose to respond,” said Drs. Redfield. If people follow the CDC’s recommendations on social distance and hygiene and get their flu shots, “this will bring this [COVID-19] break out, ”he said.
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