KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With no clear sign of an end to the pandemic, health officials will soon be dealing with COVID-19 and the flu.
Johnson County Health Services Director Nancy Tausz told 41 Action News the Department of Health and Environment is already fielding questions regarding the upcoming flu season.
“It’s hard to predict, we’ll just have to wait and see,” Tausz said.
In the United States, flu season typically arrives in October and lasts through February, peaking in December.
Experts say a flu vaccine typically arrives in September but it’s hard to predict the effectiveness and impact the disease will have on the community.
“There’s really no way to know exactly what kind of flu season we’re going to have until it’s upon us,” said Mark Steele, executive chief clinical officer at Truman Medical Center.
As flu season is approaching, health officials are working on getting coronavirus transmission under control.
“We’re certainly concerned that the number of COVID cases, that they’re increasing but in terms of bed capacity and ICU capacity and ventilator capacity, we’re fine in all of those areas,” Steele said.
As coronavirus and influenza spread in similar ways, doctors say the flu can impact and be more deadly specifically in young children compared to COVID-19.
Last flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated more than 24,000 flu-related deaths and more than 410,000 hospitalizations.
“So all the things that we’ve been preaching like good hand hygiene, avoiding large crowds, social distancing and wearing masks, that should theoretically help prevent the spread of the flu as well,” said Steele.
While a COVID-19 vaccine is in the works, health experts suggest getting the flu shot this fall.
