HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Concerns about this upcoming flu season are continuing to grow.
“What has happened with the flu is really very interesting. We changed the dynamics of the spread of the virus by preventing COVID,” said Dr. Jill Roberts, Associate Professor at the USF College of Public Health.
When everyone was wearing a mask and social distancing, not only did it lessen the spread of COVID-19 but also kept the flu at bay for the last two years.
“The last several years, we haven’t seen the same level of seasonality, the usual spikes and decreases in flu that we’ve seen in the past due to the pandemic,” said Dr. Jacquelyn Cawley, Vice President of Population Health and Chief Medical Officer for Ambulatory Care at BayCare.
Unfortunately, many people weren’t getting their flu vaccines either.
“We got no vaccine, no infection, meaning no protection,” Roberts said.
According to experts, that’s now caused the flu to find a way to create more infection.
“Now flu is moving into an environment where there’s no preexisting antibody except in people that got vaccinated last year, and that’s a pretty small percentage of the population,” Roberts said.
That’s why health officials want people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning of a severe flu season, encouraging people to get vaccinated by October 31.
“By getting your flu shot in October, by the end of October, early November, it allows you to build immunity which takes a few weeks after the shot after the vaccine is given to you,” Cawley said.
The flu is already circulating earlier than usual in Tampa Bay.
“Normally, around October, we’re telling people to get your flu shot because we expect it in November," Roberts said. "Now we’re saying, ‘oh well, flu is here. It’s already here.’ Our numbers in the southeast, in particular, are higher than they should be for this time of year."
Cawley said that they're "seeing a lot of influenza A in the community."
“We really want to make sure that the community is doing its part in reducing that disease burden and keeping flu as low as possible," she added.
These groups are most at risk for severe flu:
- immunocompromised
- 65 and older
- young children
- pregnant
“We already went and got flu vaccines," expectant mother Lynda Rysavy said. "I got my two-year-old vaccinated as well because he just started school, especially with a newborn on the way - just something that is in the back of our minds."
For people who don’t usually get the flu vaccine, doctors said they might want to rethink that this time around.
“Not to be an alarmist, but kids die from the flu. It’s a real thing, and it really happens, and it’s terrifying,” said Dr. Nicolette Mathey, Pharmacist and Owner of Palm Harbor Pharmacy.
Roberts said this is the year to get the flu shot.
“We really saw a pretty dangerous flu season occur in Australia," Roberts said. "The way that we know what’s going to happen in the U.S. is we look on the other side of the globe. What happens in their winter is what’s coming here for our winter. And they saw one of the most severe flu seasons they’ve seen in years in Australia."
The flu vaccine is widely available in our community at pharmacies and doctor’s offices.
