Even though we were told for months that the new coronavirus is unlike anything we’ve dealt with in modern times, it is still tempting for us think in terms of the flu. (Although they are definitely not the same). This makes sense because we are familiar with the flu, and with flu season, and they seem to give us a way to do direction of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while there are some similarities (like both diseases Particularly dangerous for people in high-risk health categories), the World Health Organization (WHO) wants us to know that COVID-19 is different from influenza in one important way: it is not seasonal. Weve everyone has been riding a big wave, and it’s still ridge.
There is no such thing as “COVID season”
When the new coronavirus started to spread in early 2020, some speculated that once the warmer weather hit, the outbreak would go away on its own. Sure, it was nice to hold on to that little bit of hope, but as epidemiologists and public health experts like Dr. Marc Lipsitch, Professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, have noted: this is not how COVID works.
In a virtual briefing in Geneva today, Dr. Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson, broke it down for us:
“People are still thinking about the seasons. What we all need to understand is that it is a new virus and … tYours behaves differently. Summer is a problem. This virus likes all weather. “
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Tits still it will not be Will end soon
In addition to that, there has been a lot of talk about different “waves” of COVID-19, similar to what we believe happened during the 1918 flu pandemic. This is the idea that once the spread is controlled and dissipates over a period of time, another round of new infections will start. Because places like New York City, the original epicenter of the US, have reached the point of being able to reopen, it may seem that the increased infection rate in places like Arizona and Florida it is this “second wave” that we have been warned about. But WHO officials want you to know that it really isn’t.
In fact, WHO officials have done everything possible to ensure that they do not describe the resurgences of COVID-19 (such as the one currently occurring in Hong Kong) as “waves”. There is a reason for this: the use of the term “waves” makes it appear that the spread of COVID-19 is beyond human control, when at this point we know that concerted collective action can delay the spread, Reuters reports.
Here it is what Harris said about it in the same virtual briefing:
“We are in the first wave. It will be a great wave. It’s going to go up and down a little bit. The best thing is to flatten it and turn it into something that licks your feet. ”
What can we do?
Although COVID-19 is not seasonal like the flu, that doesn’t mean we should be less prepared for this year’s flu season. That’s why it’s even more important than ever to get a flu shot this year. As Harris says, “If you have an increase in respiratory disease when you already have a very high burden of respiratory disease, that puts even more pressure on the health system.” men in addition, emphasizes the importance of continuing public health measures such as physical distancing, wearing face masks, and avoiding large crowds. (Yes, all of us, and yes, also during the summer).
As reassuring as it is to think that COVID is seasonal or coming in waves, that doesn’t seem to be the way this disease works.. So settle in, because as Lifehacker senior health editor Beth Skwarecki has been telling us for months: this is not going to end soon, collective immunity will not save us and things will probably get worse.
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