The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Robert Redfield, recently forecast that the fall and winter seasons will be “probably one of the most difficult times we have experienced in American public health.”
With the intersection of the flu season, the spread of Covid-19, and the discussion of children returning to school, it is more imperative than at any time in our lives for every American over the age of 6 months (with rare exceptions) to receive the flu shot as recommended by the CDC as of September.
The flu shot is a valuable public health tool that saves lives and remains the best defense against a flu virus that kills and sickens many of our friends, neighbors, and family members each year.
Influenza continues to be one of the top ten causes of death each year in the United States. From October 2019 to April 4, 2020, the CDC estimated that there were 56 million illnesses caused by the flu, 740,000 hospitalizations at their peak and tragically between 24,000 and 62,000 deaths from the virus.
Add to that the impact of Covid-19: The United States is getting closer to 4.5 million Americans infected with the virus and more than 150,000 lives lost.
Experts, including myself, believe that the combination of the coronavirus and influenza virus swirling in the United States this fall and winter has the potential to exacerbate tension in an already struggling public health system.
The two viruses cause initial symptoms that are difficult to distinguish, have their greatest effect in the elderly and those with similar underlying conditions, and, at the severe end of the disease spectrum, cause competition for similar hospital teams that save lives.
While there is currently a reduction in influenza surveillance in some regions of the world because many of the public health resources are being dedicated to fighting the pandemic, we cannot afford to be lax about the upcoming flu season .
This makes the life-saving flu vaccine more critical than ever. Let me say this as clearly and unequivocally as possible: get your flu shot starting in September. Do not wait for reports of a spike in the influenza virus before taking the vaccine.
Getting a flu shot early in the season allows the time it takes to develop immunity and protection from this year’s flu virus.
And if that’s not reason enough to get vaccinated, the researchers reported this week at an American Heart Association meeting that getting the flu shot can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke for high-risk people. .
As part of the select group of scientists who make recommendations on the flu vaccine each year at the World Health Organization, my colleagues and I look at the flu season in the southern hemisphere for clues to what’s to come north.
Just as we are seeing the current flu season in the South, this year we are also closely watching the spread of the coronavirus during its winter months.
So far, Australia and New Zealand are experiencing very low rates of influenza, presumably due to public health measures instituted to combat Covid-19, including social distancing, wearing of masks, and disinfecting surfaces.
These measures work equally, if not better, to prevent the flu as well. However, as we prepare for both viruses in the fall, it will be critical to develop methods to simultaneously detect influenza and Covid-19 infections.
The researchers are currently in the process of developing new dual tests that will allow us to evaluate the flu and, at the same time, detect the new coronavirus. This unique test would save time, resources, and lives.
Given the pressure on public health resources in the Covid era, a multipurpose test would be a major public health benefit.
Because the symptoms of Covid-19 and influenza are so similar, deciphering between the two viruses could be a problem when patients are infected with both. It could also be critical in providing healthcare workers with enough information to care for patients.
The warning signs are there for a difficult road ahead, yet we have the ability to change the course of this forecast. One of the main steps in our control is to take advantage of the newly composed flu vaccine, best suited for added protection against this year’s flu virus.
Plus, simple and effective prevention tips, like washing your hands and staying home when you experience symptoms of Covid or the flu, will protect us and our families. It is more important now than ever.
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