Preparing for Flu Season: Can You Get COVID-19 and the Flu at the Same Time?
COVID-19 cases are still prevalent in some states across the country, particularly in California, Texas, and Florida.
As the fall season nears, experts prepare for what some have called a "twindemic" of COVID-19 and the flu.
These two diseases are different when it comes to their viruses. Experts are now exploring what might happen if people could get COVID-19 and the flue simultaneously.
Experts are also checking if being ill with one virus might make you more susceptible to the other.
"It is certainly possible, although we aren't clear how coinfection occurs," Dr. Jay Bhatt, an ABC News contributor, and former chief medical officer of the American Hospital Association, was quoted in a report.
Bhatt said that they would learn more as we get into the flu season.
Meanwhile, Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist, ABC News Medical Contributor, and Boston Children's Hospital's chief innovation officer, said that limited data suggest possible.
However, more work needs to be done.
The report says that being infected with COVID-19 and the flu at the same time would be dangerous.
Experts said that older Americans might be particularly at risk. With this, older adults are strongly encouraged to get a flu shot this year.
Brownstein said that there had been cases of coinfection, and the result is far worse than the effect of either of the viruses alone.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that around 20 percent of patients were infected with another respiratory virus and COVID-19.
This includes one who had the flu, which shows it can be a possibility.
"We could see rising COVID cases during flu season, and some of that may depend on how effective we are at maintaining consistency in our prevention behaviors we know work," Bhatt was quoted.
Amanda Harrington, medical director of microbiology at Loyola University Medical Center, said that the flu season is a bit like a ticking time bomb.
Harrington added that they are all waiting and trying to prepare as best as they can.
Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, Stanford professor of pediatric infectious diseases and health research and policy, said that it is never good to have two infections at the same time that affect the lungs.
"Clearly, we are worried. Influenza is another pandemic. It's a pretty significant health problem," Maldonado was quoted in a report.
Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, said that this fall and winter are going to be one of the most difficult times in American public health.
At Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), Dr. William Isenberg, chief quality and safety officer for parent organization Sutter Health, said there is evidence that people can contract both diseases.
He cited a patient in the Philippines who had been infected with COVID-19 and the flu, including pneumococcal disease.
Isenberg added that anytime someone is being hospitalized, the risk of contracting another infectious disease goes up.
Check these out:
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