How COVID Will Affect the Flu

Remember the good old days when all we had to worry about during holiday season was the stomach bug and the flu. In the U.S., tens of thousands of people died from influenza each year, including children and young adults, but the world went on. We casually talked about hand washing and staying home if you were feeling sick, but we lived our lives willing to accept the risk that comes with a normal existence. Enter the COVID pandemic, making the deadly influenza virus seem a silly nuisance, and it is anyone’s guess as to what flu season will bring.

Some think mask wearing and other precautions will serve to protect against the spread of the flu, and this certainly seems reasonable. At the same time, flu season seems unavoidable, as we spend more time indoors, and understandably, become less vigilant about mask wearing and social distancing. The confusion between the common cold, the flu and Covid may have our heads spinning. Every cough or sniffle may feel like impending doom, but we are not helpless. There are defenses against getting sick (see below) and there is a defense against irrational fear.

Know the facts about the flu and Covid, so that when you are inevitably faced with a symptom in your household, you can take a deep breath and be reasonable and wise about your approach to diagnosis and treatment.

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