NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Hospitals are full as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
The upcoming flu season may be yet another obstacle health systems could face.
Northeast Wisconsin medical experts urge preparing for the flu season as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
“It’s something that we have to prepare for because we don’t know what the year will bring,” Bellin Health infection prevention team leader Carol Bess said.
Bess tells FOX 11 it will be difficult to tell when flu season will hit this year.
“Typically we can start seeing flu any time as early as October, but as you know last year we really didn’t start seeing any flu until this year in March. So last fall, we didn’t see influenza.”
During the 2019-2020 flu season, there were more than 36,175 cases of the flu in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services is still collecting data for the last flu season.
Bess says we didn’t see flu until later in the season because people were doing extra mitigation strategies, like masking.
“Those recommendations helped us avoid a catastrophic situation last fall when COVID-19 infections and seasonal flu cases could have overwhelmed our health care facilities even more than they already were,” Dr. Jennifer Frank, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the ThedaCare Clinically Integrated Network said in a news release.
“Wearing a mask, social distancing, staying home when sick and frequent hand washing greatly reduced the incidence of respiratory flu infections last year.”
“Now that masking isn’t quite as strong as it was last year, I do anticipate that we will start seeing influenza. But it’s yet to be seen when it will actually start,” Bess said.
Bess says the best time to get the flu vaccine is now.
“It does take a couple weeks once you get the vaccine for it to take effectiveness so it’s important to really get the vaccine before we start seeing flu circulating in the area.”
Health officials say symptoms of COVID and the flu are similar.
“We encourage all people to be aware of their symptoms, and if recommended, be tested for COVID-19, influenza or both,” Dr. Frank said.
A new Influenza SARS-CoV-2 (Flu SC2) Multiplex Assay test approved last fall more easily diagnoses whether a patient has Influenza A, Influenza B or COVID-19, giving health-care providers more information about how to treat their patients. In addition, it gives public health officials data to help control the spread of influenza and COVID-19 in their areas.
Bess wants to remind people to continue practicing mitigation strategies to prevent illness, and to get vaccinated.
“To mask while indoors around others in crowded areas, and then good handwashing as well.”
“We all need to be very proactive this year about staying as healthy as possible to ward off the flu and prevent complications from the disease,” Dr. Frank said. “We’d all like to think we are through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reality is this is still a novel virus that scientists and medical professionals are continuing to learn about. We all need to take extra steps to protect our health and the health of those around us. Getting a flu shot and getting vaccinated against COVID-19 are vital steps toward keeping us all healthy.”
