Preparing for flu season during a pandemic
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) - Washing our hands and wearing masks has become the new normal, but will it have an effect on the upcoming flu season? Some doctors say "yes."
"This is our first year that were really going to be dealing with the flu and Covid together because if you think about it last year Covid really started to ramp up in March and April and that's usually when flu season starts to come down," says Carla Spencer RN, the ER Director at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital.
Health experts like Salinas Valley Memorial's Nurse Carla Spencer says the
flu season could be a bit delayed thanks to social distancing guidelines that have been in place for months.
"I definitely think we will be better with masking and washing our hands and with the heightened awareness there. However we cant really drop the ball on it all together," says Spencer.
For Chualar resident Vanessa Ybarra, getting a flu shot was a no-brainer. Several years ago, she had a rough experience with the flu. The illness
lingered for days even after she spent time in the hospital.
"I was in the hospital maybe for 2 days and then I got released and then I was in bed for like a week or two. It was really bad," says Ybarra.
Now, with a new baby she's not taking any chances. Her doctor told her to get an influenza shot. During the pandemic she hopes the vaccination will help her and her newborn stay as healthy as possible.
"But it does help. It does reduce a lot of the symptoms so now since I got since that one time i have always gotten it every year after that," says Ibarra.
Doctors at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital say they are prepared for the
upcoming flu season, although there's still too many unknowns to know how bad it will be. They do have a plan for multiple tests to determine whether you have the flu or the coronavirus.
"Probably doing both flu tests and covid test is going to be what's going to happen depending on the patients presentation," says Spencer.
Local doctors say the season could be delayed because of social distancing protocols.
Because Covid-19 and the flu have very similar symptoms, doctors tell me that will their biggest challenge going into this flu season.
Fortunately, flu vaccinations have already been made available to the public. However, when flu season does roll around and people start getting sick, the way hospitals will test for the flu is very similar to the way they test for Covid-19. The big difference though is how fast the flu test results come back.
"So, the flu turnaround time is within minutes with out flu machine that we have. so again it's the same type of swab we collect with covid. It's just utilizing a different machine," says Spencer.
Doctors have said the flu weakens the body's immune system and could make you more susceptible to Covid-19. What that would look like depends on the severity of either illness.
