ADVICE ON NAVIGATING THE FLU

SEASON.

>> SOME DOCTORS ARE CALLING THE

UPCOMING FLU SEASON A TWINDEMIC

AND AS FLU SEASON STARTS THE

COUNTRY IS GRAPPLING WITH THE

SPIKE IN COVID-19 CASES DRIVE

ESPECIALLY BY THE DELTA VARIANT.

JOINING US TO TALK ABOUT HOW TO

PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST THE FLU

IS Dr. LISA RAVINDRA PRIMARY

CARE PHYSICIAN WITH RUSH

UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME ON.

>> THERE WERE CONCERNS LAST YEAR

ABOUT A TWINDEMIC AND IT DID NOT

MATERIALIZE WITH THE FLU.

WHY NOT?

>> THAT IS WE FIRST STARTED

HEARING ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF A

TWINDEMIC LAST FALL AND THE

CONCERN THAT ON TOP OF THE

BURDEN THAT COVID WAS PUTTING ON

OUR MEDICAL SYSTEM THAT WE WERE

WORRIED ABOUT FLU ALSO BURDENING

FURTHER THE HOSPITALS.

IT DIDN'T PAN OUT.

WHICH IS A GOOD THING BUT I

THINK THERE IS A LOT OF REASONS

WHY THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN LAST

YEAR.

WE WERE UNDER STRICTER COVID

MEASURES TO MITIGATE COVID.

PEOPLE WERE MASKING.

PEOPLE WERE NOT GOING TO SCHOOL

AND WORK LIKE THEY ARE NOW.

AND A LOT OF PEOPLE GOT THE FLU

VACCINE MORE PEOPLE THAN USUAL

GOT THE FLU VACCINE LAST YEAR.

A LOT OF MY PATIENTS ARE EAGER

IN GETTING THE VACCINE BEFORE I

WOULD BRING IT UP KNOWING THAT

THEY DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE BOTH

ILLNESSES BE AN ISSUE IN THE

WINTER.

>> A LOT OF FACTORS.

WHAT ARE DOCTORS PREDICTING FOR

THIS UP COMING FLU SEASON NOTING

THAT KIDS BY AND LARGE ARE BACK

IN SCHOOL?

>> THE FLU SEASON IS NOTORIOUSLY

HARD TO PREDICT.

WE HAVE TO FIND OUT.

I'M HOPING OUR WARNINGS LAST

YEAR WERE ABLE TO CONVINCE

PEOPLE TO GET THE FLU SHOT AND

THIS YEAR WE'LL DO THE SAME.

BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S

SEVERAL MODELS PREDICTING A

SEVERE FLU SEASON AND THAT IS

BECAUSE KIDS ARE BACK IN SCHOOL.

PEOPLE ARE NOT MASKS AS MUCH ARE

NOT DOING THE SAME MEASURES.

BUT ALSO FOR A FEW DIFFERENT

REASONS.

USUALLY EVEN IF PEOPLE AREN'T --

DON'T GET SYMPTOMS FROM THE FLU

THEY ARE EXPOSED TO THE FLU AT

SOME POINT DURING THE FLU SEASON

AND DEVELOP SOME ANTIBODIES THAT

CARRY OVER INTO THE NEXT SEASON.

BUT SINCE THERE WAS NO FLU

CIRCULATING LAST YEAR MOST

PEOPLE DID NOT GET EXPOSED THEIR

IMMUNITY LEVEL ANTIBODY LEVEL IS

GOING TO BE LOWER AND HAVE OLDER

ANTIBODIES THAT MAY NOT BE ABLE

TO FIGHT IT.

>> THE DOWNSIDES OF NOT HAVING A

ROBUST FLU SEASON AND KIDS ARE

VECTORS OF THE FLU.

DOES IT STAND TO REASON IF THEY

ARE BACK IN SCHOOL AND IN TIGHT

QUARTERS, THEY MIGHT SPREAD THE

FLU TO THE GENERAL POPULATION?

>> YES, ABSOLUTELY.

AND IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT FOR

ANYBODY OVER THE AIMING OF SIX

MONTHS, CHILDREN INCLUDED TO GET

THE FLU VACCINE.

AND I SAY START GET TO GO NOW.

WE GOT FLU VACCINE TO MY OFFICE

AND I'M ADVISING MY PATIENTS TO

GET VACCINATED AS SOON AS

POSSIBLE.

THERE IS NO REASON TO WAIT.

SO DO IT NOW.

>> WHAT ABOUT CONCERNS FROM

PEOPLE THAT TOOK THE COVID-19

VACCINE AND WONDER IS IT SAFE TO

TAKE THE FLU VACCINE IN CLOSE

PROXIMITY?

>> YES.

SO INITIALLY WHEN THE COVID

VACCINE CAME OUT LAST WINTER WE

WERE ADVISING PATIENTS TO WAIT

14-DAYS BETWEEN GETTING ANY

OTHER IMMUNIZATIONS.

BUT THAT RECOMMENDATION IS NOT

ON NOW.

IT'S SAFE TO GET THE FLU SHOT

AND THE COVID-19 VACCINE

ALTOGETHER AT THE SAME TIME.

SAME DAY.

THERE IS NO REASON TO SPACE THEM

OUT.

SO IF SOMEBODY IS ELIGIBLE FOR

THE BOOSTER SHOT, OR THE THIRD

SHOT, I RECOMMEND GETTING

EVERYTHING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

>> GOING BACK TO YOU'RE SAYING

MODELS ARE PREDICTING A HEAVY

FLU SEASON BEYOND KIDS BEING IN

SCHOOL, NOT SOCIAL DISTANCING AS

MUCH WHAT ARE THE OTHER FACTORS

THAT GO INTO THAT MODELING?

>> IN YEARS PAST WE'VE LOOKED AT

THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

COUNTRIES LIKE AUSTRALIA TO SEE

HOW THEIR FLU SEASON WENT.

THEIR'S IS JUST ENDING NOW.

THEY HAD A LIGHT SEASON AGAIN

THIS YEAR.

BUT THEY ARE ALSO MUCH MORE

STRICT ABOUT COVID MEASURES AND

NOT THEIR BORDERS ARE MOSTLY

CLOSED.

I DON'T THINK WE CAN BASE IT ON

THEIR MODEL BECAUSE WE'RE

FUNCTIONING DIFFERENTLY IN OUR

COUNTRY.

THERE IS A LOT OF FACTORS THAT

GO INTO IT.

A LOT OF TIMES WE USE THE

STRAINS FROM PREVIOUS SEASONS TO

PREDICT STRAINS OF THE FLU THIS

YEAR BUT IT'S HARDER WHEN THE

FLU WAS SO LIGHT LAST YEAR.

>> A LOT OF THINGS FOR PARENTS