With the resumption of schools in some parts of the country, states are facing a new urgency, increasing the risk of spreading both viruses. Explaining the unique lethal risk posed by this year’s flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they have purchased 20 times the normal amount of flu vaccine and for the first time the fund is supporting a state immunization messaging campaign.
But that will largely be left to state health officials – still drunk with the coronavirus epidemic – in marshal limited resources, which dispels indifference to the flu shot to persuade people fed up with the crisis. Season less than 0 percent of adults prefer to be vaccinated during the normal season, which CDC director Robert Redfield hopes to reach percent percent during this lifetime health crisis.
“It’s definitely been a struggle,” said Crystal Ramboud, the Department of Health’s vaccinated disease manager in Pima County, Arizona. Which showed a competitive priority in managing the flu and coronavirus.
“For people like me, vaccination was my full-time job, and then cowardly and that was my full-time job,” he said. “Now I’m moving back, and now I find myself in a situation where I’m trying to manage both.”
States are taking advantage of federal resources on the vaccination campaign and will launch new partnerships to deliver flu shots far, starting in the next few weeks. The CDC says September and October are the best months for vaccinations.
Michigan has for the first time purchased a flu vaccine for poor residents and is running television commercials encouraging people to get flu shots, including a campaign that spends million 3 million in federal funds, including access to social media. Vervint’s health department is working with long-term care facilities and prisons to ensure that people with particularly high risk of Covid-19 have a flu shot. New York City is launching a $ 3.5 million vaccine media campaign after the country’s most devastating coronavirus outbreak and has purchased -63,000 doses – six times the normal amount – to focus on vaccinating high-risk people. Is.
The CDC estimates that 410,000 and 740,000 were hospitalized with flu last year, and as many as 62,000 died. Public health officials fear that such a bad flu season this year could mean a trend of overcrowded emergency rooms and a shortage of home protective equipment that is disrupting many health systems this spring.
To complicate matters, it is possible to become infected with both viruses – and at the same time be able to spread them. Just find out who has what can be chaotic, because the symptoms are the same.
Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana – the stakes are particularly high in some states where severe coronavirus outbreaks have occurred this summer, with the country generally having the lowest flu vaccination rates.
Vaccination rates are also lower in color communities, which are particularly hard hit by coronavirus. Last year, 49 percent of white adults were vaccinated against the flu, while only 39 percent of black and 37 percent of Hispanic adults were inoculated, according to the CDC. Louisiana’s outreach includes targeted efforts to reach the minority population, including partnerships with churches and barber shops to promote flu vaccines, said Frank Welch, medical director for emergency preparedness at the Louisiana Department of Health.
According to a survey by the American Academy of Physicians, with the re-opening of large spreads and schools of Covid-19 this summer, the youngest adult group has the least flu shots.
There are some encouraging signs, however, that this year’s flu season may be milder. New Zealand, which is a U.S. This year saw record demand for the flu vaccine, which has similar immunization rates – and lower levels of infection with other Southern Hemisphere countries undergoing the flu season. Experts predict that wearing masks and social distance will help keep the flu at bay this year, and the risk of getting coronavirus could encourage people to be more proactive about this fall vaccination.
Barry Bloom, an infectious disease specialist and public health professor at Harvard, said: “Kovid’s fear is a driver to get people vaccinated against the flu. “
Christine Finlay, director of immunization at the Vermont Department of Health, said her office fees have been filled by calls from public and health care providers about flu shots. The agency is still finalizing plans for vaccine distribution, but said the level of interest is an encouraging sign.
“I don’t think we’ve raised a lot of questions on the flu vaccine this year, which we’re seeing this year,” Finley said. “We can dance as fast as we can.”
Others are less protected optimists, citing a lack of a strong national campaign to vaccinate people.
“I can predict what will happen, but I’m not optimistic that we will rush to get the flu vaccine,” said Oscar Eleni, head of the program at the National Association of County and City Health Officers.
With millions losing their jobs and health insurance during the epidemic, health officials say they are buying more flu vaccines than ever before. Phoenix’s home, Marikopa County, Arizona, has purchased eight times the common stock of the vaccine and used millions of dollars to fund stimulus from the Care Act to raise awareness.
“We want to make sure that anyone who needs the flu vaccine gets the flu vaccine,” said Marcy Flanagan, the county’s director of public health.
Flu vaccine manufacturers said they plan to produce about 200 million doses this year, a historic amount and 13 percent higher than the average year. The CDC provides about Rs 150 million to the states for public campaigns and mobile vaccination sites for rural areas. The Trump administration, with the goal of making vaccines more accessible, authorized pharmacists last week to administer childhood immunizations after lowering vaccination rates, as people avoided doctors ’offices.
The spokesperson said the CDC will also launch a digital campaign this year, which will include reaching out to targets for the elderly, minorities and people with underlying health status. The agency also plans to resume regular press briefings, which were cut short during the coronavirus response.
The CDC has purchased more than 11 million doses for the low-income population, providing as many as 500,000 community health centers typically serving those groups. However, after the time indicated for vaccination, it will not reach supply until at least November – although doctors say the shots are useful even after that.
But like the coronavirus, some of these attempts have been made by President Donald Trump, who has denied the severity of the flu and questioned whether a flu shot is necessary. This spring, Tu, he also disputed Redfield, the CDC director’s warning that the confluence of this year’s flu season and coronavirus epidemics could be particularly dangerous.
Conflicting messages could undermine both state and federal efforts, public health officials fear.
“I think it’s going to be a challenge,” said Richard Webb, a flu virologist at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and the World Health Organization. “Are we going to take people who usually get flu shots from people who don’t get flu shots? I hope but it is not real. “
