Fall has officially begun with another flu season in store, but this year, public health officials and politicians are warning the flu could increase the demand on Orange County’s health care grid, which has been stressed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A second outbreak is a primary concern with cooling temperatures approaching, and relaxing pandemic rules could lead to more people gathering in tighter quarters.

County leaders are urging residents to maintain their pandemic habits, to help prevent a so-called “twindemic” of influenza and the coronavirus, and advise residents to get a flu shot.

Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist and professor of public health at UCI, states that the driving factor is COVID, a new virus, and the flu shot is not.

Both are respiratory diseases with similar transmission modes such as coughs and sneezes spouting infectious droplets around – the flu has been around for centuries, and health systems know how to manage it, Noymer stated.

The COVID-19 countermeasures like wearing face masks, social distancing, and frequent hand washing will also work against the flu.

One concern is that both diseases share symptoms that could cause the lesser-studied COVID-19 to spread undetected if a sick person believes they have the flu, Noymer said. That will be a challenge for an already stressed healthcare system, he said.

Annual flu hospitalizations could cause hospitals to maintain pandemic surge plans that added beds and staff. Healthcare providers are spreading the message to their patients ahead of the expected strain.

This week, Kaiser Permanente emailed Orange County members with a video explaining the differences between a seasonal cold, the flu, and COVID-19.

The differences between all three can be hard to distinguish, which is why mild coronavirus cases might go undetected, the video explains. The main symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, shortness of breath, with onset up to two weeks after exposure. As with influenza or the flu, it starts suddenly with fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, and body aches.

Meanwhile, common colds slowly take hold with symptoms, including a runny nose, sore throat, sneezing, headaches, and high fevers are rare.

The flu kills 60,000 people per year nationwide, Noymer said, but “COVID-19 has killed 200,000, and the year is not even over yet,”

According to public health data, since 2017, influenza and pneumonia have killed an average of 576 people per year in Orange County. Since March, the COVID-19 death toll among residents has climbed to more than 1,100 people.

For health experts, the coronavirus still is the wildcard as winter approaches. Noymer further added that the county’s population is more susceptible to COVID than the flu because they have flu shots and currently don’t have a COVID shot.

The ongoing coronavirus spread could create a second wave of cases caused by business and school reopenings as well as changes in temperature and humidity.

Recently, Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a Senate subcommittee he suspects a COVID-19 vaccine will be available in the U.S. by December in limited supply.

For more information on disinfecting and sanitization measures click here.

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