With flu season just days away, experts are urging the community to get vaccinated as soon as possible as the disease may be more severe than in years past.
The emergency doctor, José Ramón Torradas, indicated that in areas of southern Australia there has been an increase in cases of influenza as the restrictions due to COVID-19 are no longer so severe.
“We have been closed for several years and this is really the first year we are really open. I suspect the cases will be higher,” he explained.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the 2018-2019 flu season, more than 27,000 people lost their lives from this virus. However, during the pandemic, that number dropped by more than 7,000.
“By spending several years locked up without interacting so much, wearing so many masks reduces the risk of getting infected so much,” the doctor stressed.
However, Torradas warned that by not being exposed to these diseases and not receiving the respective vaccines, the body could be more “vulnerable”.
“The flu can attack anyone, but it makes us very vulnerable to secondary infections and within the flu that’s really what’s alarming. It’s not always the virus itself, but it’s the complications that come with it, similar to COVID.” , he added.
There are two options for getting a flu shot this year. The CDC recommends influenza inoculation from 6 months of age or older nasal spray for those over two years old.
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