AdventHealth doctors say getting a flu shot has never been more important than it is this year as the flu season will overlap with the coronavirus pandemic.
The flu vaccine can help reduce the strain on the healthcare system by limiting the number of influenza cases in hospitals.
AdventHealth Centra Care Medical Director Dr. Tim Hendrix says it can also improve outcomes in patients who come down with both the flu and coronavirus.
"Having two different viruses is never a good thing. And we look at co-infections when people had the flu and they get pneumonia, they get a bacterial pneumonia. Those are people that end up in the hospital. So, the risk of complications is higher with co-infection like that so again another good reason to get your flu shot.”
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Hendrix says the symptoms of flu and the coronavirus are the same which is why urgent cares will be offering testing for both along with the flu vaccine later this month.
He says people need to continue to practice mask wearing and good hygiene ahead of the Labor Day Weekend including limiting gatherings. He said July 4th festivities led to a surge of cases in the state.
“And people we’re coming into Labor Day. I know there’s a temptation to try to enjoy the weekend, but those gatherings. We know after large gatherings we get a bump in cases. We saw it after Memorial Day, we saw it after July the 4th. We’re finally recovering from July the 4th numbers. We’ve got to be ready and we’ve got to keep those gatherings to a small number.”
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The AdventHealth hospital system is currently treating 300 COVID-19 positive patients.
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