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CNN – Dr Adrian Burrowes has seen hundreds of Covid-19 patients. But he’s particularly worried about what will happen this flu season – even more so than last year.
This fall and winter could mark the first wave of patients infected with both the flu and the Delta variant – the most contagious strain of coronavirus to hit the United States.
“You can definitely catch both the flu and Covid-19, which could be catastrophic for your immune system,” said Burrowes, a family physician and assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Central Florida.
“I’m definitely more worried this year than a year ago,” he told CNN. “And the reason is that now we have pretty significant Covid fatigue among the American population.”
Tightened security measures against Covid-19 last year helped stem the spread of influenza last year, said Dr. Mark Rosenberg, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
“Last year, more people staying at home and covering their faces when going out kept the flu count at an all-time low,” Rosenberg said in a statement written this month. But “this year the situation could be dangerously different”.
With more people out and millions of Americans not vaccinated against the flu or Covid-19 – “I think you’re going to see an increase in flu cases,” Burrowes said.
“I think you’re going to see co-infection with the flu and the coronavirus. And I think you’re going to see a higher death rate as a result.”
What Covid-19 and the Flu Could Do Together
On their own, Covid-19 and the flu can attack the lungs, potentially causing pneumonia, fluid in the lungs or respiratory failure, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
Each disease can also cause sepsis, heart damage, and inflammation of the heart, brain, or muscle tissue.
Having the two diseases simultaneously “would increase the risk of long-term effects from any of these organ systems,” said Dr. Michael Matthay, professor of medicine and critical care specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
“The two together could definitely be more harmful to the lungs and cause more respiratory failure,” Matthay told CNN last year and reiterated this week.
Respiratory failure doesn’t necessarily mean your lungs stop working. This means that the lungs cannot get enough oxygen from the blood.
“Acute respiratory failure can be a life-threatening emergency,” says the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “Respiratory failure can damage your lungs and other organs, so it’s important to get treatment quickly.”
But with so few cases of the flu last year, there isn’t much data on how many people have had the flu and Covid-19 simultaneously. “Health experts are still studying how common this is,” the CDC said.
Internal medicine doctor Dr Jorge Rodriguez typically sees around 60 flu patients each flu season. Last season, the Los Angeles doctor saw none.
But this year, “the chances of a double whammy will definitely increase,” Rodriguez told CNN this week. “The fever can be worse. Shortness of breath can be worse. The loss of smell and taste could be worse. And on top of all that, it could last longer.”
He and Burrowes said they expected to see more patients with both diseases in the coming months. Not only more and more people are abandoning last year’s safety precautions, but having one virus can weaken the immune system’s ability to respond to a second virus.
Think of it this way, Rodriguez said, “If you get hit with a hammer it will hurt. But if you already have a broken leg and you get hit with a hammer again it will hurt more. will take longer to heal. “
This is particularly concerning as some Covid-19 patients are already struggling with complications that last for months.
While flu symptoms often go away within weeks, Rodriguez and other doctors are seeing more patients with long-term Covid.
Increasingly, they include previously healthy young adults, Rodriguez said.
He recalled a “38-year-old, super healthy” athlete and martial artist who contracted Covid-19. A year later, he still cannot exercise regularly.
“He just doesn’t have the lung reserve to do it anymore,” Rodriguez said. “It has affected (other aspects of) his health. He has gained weight. He is depressed because he is not the same person he felt he was.”
Across the country, Burrowes has also noticed an increase in the number of young Covid-19 patients.
“This year I have seen over 400 patients with Covid,” he said. “And since April, the overwhelming majority of these patients are under 40. Of those patients, 98% were unvaccinated.”
How a punch could hit health care
In some states, hospitals are already inundated with Covid-19 patients. Some have activated crisis care standards, allowing hospitals to ration resources and treatment.
Add in an influx of flu patients this season – or flu and coronavirus patients – and the situation could turn dire, Burrowes said.
Not only could this reduce other people’s access to prompt health care, it could also put medical workers at risk – which, in turn, would have an impact on the public as well.
“When people say the coronavirus is like the flu, it bothers me,” he said. “I have never lost a physician colleague to the flu.… But I have lost four relatively healthy physician colleagues who all died from the coronavirus.”
Each of those colleagues died before Covid-19 vaccines were available, Burrowes said.
But even now, with the vaccination and the protective gear, “we are treating patients and we are directly against them and we are close to them for long periods of time,” he said.
The public needs to understand that if they don’t help mitigate the spread, they can undergo a tough reality check if they have a car accident or other emergency and don’t receive the urgent care they expect. , said Rodriguez.
How to avoid a double whammy in flu-Covid-19
“Getting the vaccine is one of the best ways to avoid a double whammy,” said Rosenberg, head of the emergency doctors’ association.
But only 55.8% of Americans have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to CDC data on Tuesday.
And “only about half of Americans get an annual flu shot,” the CDC said. Most children who die from the flu are not vaccinated.
The CDC recommends flu shots for anyone 6 months of age and older, with rare exceptions. Covid-19 vaccines are available to anyone aged 12 and over, and children aged 5 to 11 could become eligible in the coming weeks.
Conveniently, Americans can now receive a Covid-19 vaccine and a flu shot at the same time, the CDC said. This could prompt more people to receive both injections, said Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“If that means going in and getting the flu shot in one arm (and) the Covid vaccine in the other, that’s perfectly fine,” Fauci said.
While groundbreaking infections are possible with the flu and Covid-19 vaccines – which work differently in the body – “these two vaccines have the same ability to decrease the severity of your disease,” Burrowes said.
Even though he’s fully vaccinated, Rodriguez plans to wear a mask in public this fall and winter to help minimize the risk of a breakthrough infection – whether it’s coronavirus or the flu, he said. declared.
He doesn’t want to risk lowering his immune system and becoming vulnerable to the other virus.
“I have no problem taking extra safety precautions,” he said. “My freedom is not affected at all.”
The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
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