Last year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calculated that between 39 and 56 million flu illnesses occurred in the United States. These led to 410,000-740,000 hospitalizations and 24,000-62,000 flu deaths.
FREMONT, CA: Influenza season has been the hot topic of healthcare and public personnel. They are concerned about how the situation would be like in winter, given the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic. A lot of questions have been raised regarding this topic, such as how the flu season would increase the stress of COVID-19, and what people should expect.
Last year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calculated that between 39 and 56 million flu illnesses occurred in the United States. These led to 410,000-740,000 hospitalizations and 24,000-62,000 flu deaths.
Currently, the United States has seen over 5.6 million COVID-19 cases and 175,650 deaths. The number of infected and deaths is only increasing.
People can be co-infected with various respiratory viruses. The problem is that the common factors between infection of both influenza and SARS-CoV-2 are still unclear. Flu season can pose an extra burden on hospitals and possibly drain resources, staffing, and healthcare capacity. Considering the potential surges of COVID-19, and that could be devastating. The practices, such as wearing masks, social distancing, and staying home, might be a lower impact of flu. Those COVID-19 prevention strategies can help decrease the transmission of influenza too. Also, mandating vaccination can support a reduction in flu cases. However, It is important to focus on increasing capacity in terms of staffing and resources.
Another important issue can the fatigue of healthcare workers caused by extra burden. Even though a surge is not currently happening in their communities, they can experience extreme fatigue, frustration, and utter exhaustion from the additional workload in the pandemic.
It is also very likely that anyone having even the mildest respiratory illness symptoms would be sent home and require a COVID-19 test. Considering these possible issues, it is necessary to focus on prevention and the efforts of healthcare professionals.
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