Experts renew flu ‘twindemic’ warnings
Last year’s influenza season turned out to be the mildest on record, but health experts have renewed warnings that a “twindemic” might be possible this year, and they urge Americans to get a flu shot.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,675 cases of influenza from Sept. 28 to May 22, representing only .2% of specimens tested. However, it’s difficult to predict what this year will look like, health experts say.
They worry it may resemble a more typical flu season, as students get back to in-person learning and states loosen mask and social distancing mandates amid a return to social gatherings.
That is especially concerning as COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant rise throughout the country.
A USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data suggests the U.S. reported more than 1.05 million cases in the week that ended Monday, amounting to 104 cases every minute.
Severe illness and deaths are also rising, filling ICU beds and threatening hospital capacity. The country recorded more than 7,200 COVID-19 deaths in the week that ended Monday, the equivalent of a Pearl Harbor attack three times a week, or a 9/11 attack every three days.
“We were worried about the ‘twindemic’ last year and we face the same threat this year,” said Dr. Daniel Solomon, a physician in the division of infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “COVID-19 is likely to continue, and we face the threat of dual respiratory viruses that could put a strain on our health care system.”
Flu shots are now available at CVS and Walgreens, the country’s largest retail pharmacies, and offer co-administration of the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.
The CDC reversed previous guidance to wait at least 14 days between the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, saying “you can get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines at the same visit.”
Physicians haven’t yet seen any flu cases, but they are seeing an increase in other respiratory viruses that show conditions may be primed for fall and winter flu transmission.
Respiratory syncytial virus is a common virus that usually causes mild, coldlike symptoms primarily in children, according to the CDC. It’s the most common cause of pneumonia in children younger than 1 in the U.S.
“Some of the cases of children that are being hospitalized with COVID also have a co-infection of RSV,” said Dr. Jeff Fischer, president at Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics LLC, a privately held biotechnology company. “So, one of the other concerns is that you see coinfections (of flu).”
RSV in the summer doesn’t necessarily predict flu transmission in the fall and winter, Solomon said, but it shows children, who are efficient transmitters of flu, are interacting more in social settings.
In addition to getting the flu vaccine, health experts say it’s important to practice some of the health measures from the pandemic that last year prevented flu transmission.
A nationwide lockdown is not necessary, they say. They say wearing masks, practicing good hand hygiene and staying home from work when sick are sufficient to keep people from getting sick and infecting other vulnerable populations.