Seasonal flu this fall is likely to reach the top of the COVID-19 pandemic, and medical experts in Utah said they are concerned that a “twindemia” could further stress our hospitals and health systems. (KSL Chopper 5)
SALT LAKE CITY: Seasonal flu this fall is likely to hit the top of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Utah doctors and medical experts said they were concerned that a “twindemia” could further stress our hospitals and our health care systems.
If we don’t fight the flu as vigorously as COVID-19, our health systems and our caregivers could be more stressed.
“The flu puts a lot of people in the hospital every year. With COVID-19 still rising in our community, we really can’t afford to add hospitalizations for the flu,” said Stephen Goldstein, a postdoctoral and evolutionary researcher. . virologist at the University of Utah School of Medicine.
Goldstein noted that most public health restrictions have been lifted this year, the use of masks is uneven and many people are resuming what appears to be a normal life.
People are not as cautious about respiratory infections as they were last year in the early COVID-19 pandemic. So, other respiratory illnesses reappear and expect the flu as well.
“There is a real risk that if COVID-19 infections increase in late fall and winter, this will happen at the same time as the flu resurfaces,” Goldstein said. “That would be bad for our healthcare systems.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu stood at record lows last winter.
“What it tells us is that the same measures we did to try to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic also have an effect on seasonal flu, which is spreading very similarly,” the researcher said.
RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, a serious disease for children, has also returned.
It usually grows in January and February, so it is very unusual for it to be transmitted to our communities during the summer.
“Right now we have a large number of RSV cases that also allow us to put children in the hospital and increase the burden on the pediatric health care system,” Goldstein said.
Doctors recommend getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and seasonal flu to protect yourself, others around you, and the community at large.
“These two things are what can really help you stay out of the hospital if you get sick this winter,” Goldstein said.
Utah Department of Health officials said the flu vaccine has begun to arrive.
In the coming weeks, they recommend making a plan to get this flu shot where you normally control it.
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Jed Boal