MWC
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — Fall is just a few weeks away at this point, and with colder temperatures, comes an unwelcome guest: the flu.
Doctors expect the influenza virus will only worsen problems caused this year by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“How bad [the flu season] is going to be is really not known,” said Dr. Paul Pritchard of Prevea Health. “What we’re concerned about is having a flu season right on top of the COVID pandemic.
“One of the things we are going to struggle with is identifying which is which,” he added. “That’s why we think it’s going to be imperative that as many people as possible get the flu vaccine this year.”
The fear is that an influx of flu patients into local hospitals already dealing with COVID-19 could strain medical resources. They’re not sure how bad the season could get, and won’t know until patients start rolling in, regardless, they’re encouraging vaccination.
“Some will argue that [the vaccine] won’t be effective, and we won’t know that until the season starts,” Dr. Pritchard told WTAQ. “Nonetheless, the more people you get immunized, the better chance you have of stopping its spread.”
Pandemic measures like face covering and hand washing also help prevent the spread of the flu.
It is possible that a patient could wind up getting infected with both COVID-19 and influenza at the same time. It would be rare, Dr. Pritchard says, but not impossible.
“They’re two different viruses,” he explained. “That would be a very nasty situation for somebody, but yes. That is possible.”
Last spring, before the true scope of COVID-19 in the United States was realized, local health officials expressed deep concern over the last flu season, which saw a high-level of influenza virus activity in Northeast Wisconsin. Those concerns were overtaken in March when COVID-19 began community spread throughout the country.
During the state-mandated ‘Safer at Home’ orders throughout much of the country flu activity ground to a halt, which officials speculate was due to more people staying at home.
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