Influenza and COVID-19: The Twindemic

[sirI]

Quote

As public health officials look to fall and Winter, the specter of a new surge of Covid-19 gives them chills. But there is a scenario they dread even more: a severe flu season, resulting in a “twindemic.”

But now, fighting flu proactively during the continuing pandemic presents significant challenges: not only how to administer the shot safely and readily, but also how to prompt people to get a shot that a majority of Americans have typically distrusted, dismissed and skipped.

Fearing a 'Twindemic,' Health Experts Push Urgently for Flu Shots

Are you getting the Flu shot this year?

Do you think the COVID-19 Pandemic will heighten during the Flu season?

[GrumpyRN, NP]

7 hours ago, mtlrn said:

f flu rates are similar or only slightly down then we know that countries like Sweden which did not quarantine and shutdown the economy responded wisely.?

If the US and UK had tried to follow Sweden we would have had far worse outcomes. We are much more overcrowded than Sweden and also a busier travel hub, so the pandemic "loading dose" in our countries was much higher and more widely spread. Health services would have been under even greater pressure without lockdown. UK has poor public health and US, while having excellent health care, has poor access to it.

In the article I read a doctor stated:- "Covid has just acted as an accelerator of pre-existing risks and inequalities. Sweden puts more into its health and social care system and has a much better life expectancy than UK or US.

UK and US have higher levels of poverty, over-crowding, obesity and chronic disease than Sweden. In UK 80% of the deaths from Covid were of people who had one or more pre-existing illnesses.

I paraphrased (stole) the above from an article written by a doctor I have trust in, unfortunately the article is password protected and I am unable to copy it. It was written for the UK but you can see that US has similar problems.

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

On 8/17/2020 at 3:16 PM, NRSKarenRN said:

Get my Flu shot yearly in Sept./Oct. as soon as available.

My relatives have already received their flu shots .

[NotAllWhoWandeRN, ASN, RN]

On 8/25/2020 at 8:57 AM, mtlrn said:

If rates of flu infection are significantly down from previous years then we know that the social distancing, mask wearing etc was probably worth the disruption to people's jobs, schooling, businesses etc.

If flu rates are similar or only slightly down then we know that countries like Sweden which did not quarantine and shutdown the economy responded wisely.?

You say that as though there's no way to tell how COVID prevention measures have worked on actual COVID, based on data from regions and countries that have adopted various strategies. I've never had the flu in my life, but I got COVID 4 months into caring for COVID patients. They're not the same. What we may end up with better data regarding, is whether COVID prevention measures also effectively reduce flu transmission, not that reduction in flu transmission proves anything about COVID.