By Mary O’KEEFE

Normally the flu season comes with warnings from the medical community to the public to get a flu shot, to remember to wash hands and keep distant from each other. Those warnings remain but with an emphasis on the importance of following these guidelines in the midst of the pandemic.
“This year it is more important to have the flu shot,” said Dr. Saeid Safaee of Adventist Health Glendale, adding, “The symptoms of the flu are similar to COVID-19.”
This similarity in symptoms could cause unnecessary confusion and medical staff to use limited COVID-19 resources. Until an accurate diagnosis is made, patients may also experience higher levels of stress and worry about their symptoms.
Safaee also said this year there is concern that people will have both COVID-19 and the flu. A quick assessment will be made when patients enter the hospital or a doctor’s office when they will be checked for both COVID-19 and the flu.
“There are some patients who could have the core [COVID-19] infection at the same time [they] can have a flu test that is positive,” he explained. “If you don’t test for COVID-19 [doctors] could miss it. [Patients] need to be tested for both the flu and [COVID-19].”
The good news, if there is any, is that medical professionals are looking at a less intense flu season this year. Safaee said that with fewer people traveling and more practicing social distancing and washing their hands often some will avoid contracting the flu.
“But [even] a smaller percentage is still too many overall,” he said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2017 6,340 Californians died of influenza/pneumonia. Throughout the U.S. during 2018-19, 34,200 people died of influenza.
“Influenza activity in the United States during the 2018–19 season began to increase in November and remained at high levels for several weeks during January–February. Influenza A viruses were the predominant circulating viruses last year. While influenza A(H1N1pdm09) viruses predominated from October 2018 – mid February 2019, influenza A(H3N2) viruses were more commonly reported starting in late February 2019. Influenza B viruses were not commonly reported among circulating viruses during the 2018–19 season. The season had moderate severity based on levels of outpatient influenza-like illness, hospitalization rates, and proportions of pneumonia and influenza-associated deaths,” according to the CDC.
To date the total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the U.S. is 218,986. This is a number that has been reported to CDC beginning on Jan. 21, 2020.
In addition to the public being more aware of how disease spreads and having safeguards in place, including wearing face coverings and practicing social distancing, students are not in school.
Safaee said school is often a place where community passing of the flu is common. In addition, people are traveling less from state to state and around the world, which will help slow the spread of the flu.
Some are concerned about getting the flu shot, worried that the flu vaccine may be a mismatch for this year’s flu strain.
“Basically every year they are going to come up with a selection of 10, 15 and 20 different strengths [types] of flu and [the vaccine against the right strain of flu] could not be the right one,” Safaee said. “But [getting the shot] will [create] good immunity overall.”
He added the flu shot provides some immunity for the patient, which helps to reduce the severity of the flu, which could be greater without the vaccine.
“We don’t expect anything like the H1N1,” he said.
H1N1pdm09 first appeared in the U.S. in 2009 and quickly spread throughout the country and then around the world. It was “very different” from the H1N1 virus that had been circulating. Though few young people had any existing immunity about one-third of people over 60 years old had antibodies against that virus. A vaccine was produced but was not available in large quantities until late November, after the peak of illness during the second wave had come and gone in the U.S., according to the CDC.
“This year we have some good data from Australia. [The flu] started in the southern hemisphere where they are in winter [and get] the flu before us,” Safaee said.
By the time it gets to the U.S. there is a lot of data on the strain of flu and how it has affected patients.
“This year Australia had lower numbers of flu patients,” Safaee added.
Flu season started at the end of September and continues to spread through the middle of November so it is very important for people to get the flu vaccine now, he added.
Flu shots are available through personal family physicians and at pharmacies like CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens.
The La Crescenta Library, 2809 Foothill Blvd., will host a free flu shot clinic on Oct. 27 from noon to 4 p.m. It will be an outdoor walk-up flu shot clinic and vaccines will be available while supplies last.