The shot clock is ticking.
Now is the time of year to get that flu vaccine for it to be most effective, according to an expert on infectious diseases. Hospitals, pharmacies and public health authorities are ramping up efforts to prevent a “twindemic” – the flu and COVID-19 – that could wreak havoc in emergency rooms.
“When you have two respiratory viruses operating together, that are both highly contagious, it can cause a lot of trouble,” said Dr. David Lowe, infectious disease specialist for Care New England Health System.
Public health experts said October is the best month to get a flu shot, providing maximum protection from infection, hospitalization and, in rare cases, even death.
“In the Northern Hemisphere, most of our flu activity occurs from October until March. People should get the flu vaccine by the end of October,” Lowe said. “That covers you for six months.”
Last year, there was a relatively low level of influenza reported locally, Lowe said, as many COVID-19 precautions remained in place and masking was the norm. Statistics provided by the R.I. Department of Health show that there were no documented flu-related deaths and just two hospitalizations last influenza season when COVID-19 was the dominant public health threat, a minuscule amount compared with the 950 hospitalizations and 20 deaths attributed to influenza during the 2019 through 2020 flu season, and the 1,032 hospitalizations and 39 deaths from the flu the year before that.
Since last flu season, however, COVID-19 safety protocols have relaxed, people aren’t wearing masks in public as much, and large indoor gatherings are more common.
‘It’s hard to tell what [the flu is] going to do this year.’
DR. JOHN LONKS, The Miriam Hospital epidemiologist
“Masking and distancing reduce influenza transmission,” Lowe said. “That’s why we probably saw very little influenza last year because everyone was particularly afraid of the coronavirus, and they masked and distanced in Rhode Island. Now it’s letting up. For the grandparents and parents, it’ll be worse than last year probably.”
That could spell trouble for hospitals that have already been stretched thin by COVID-19 for more than a year, leading to worker burnout, labor shortages and packed emergency rooms.
“The ERs take the biggest brunt of the infection,” Lowe said.
This is a fear shared by the Department of Health.
“We expect to see more cases of flu this year,” said spokeswoman Annemarie Beardsworth. “Rhode Islanders can help avoid stressing the health care system by getting both the flu and COVID-19 vaccines.”
CVS Health Corp. said it’s in the middle of a nationwide hiring initiative in part due to the rising need for flu shots, along with COVID-19 shots and testing. The company is trying to fill 25,000 clinical and retail jobs across the country, including 220 at its pharmacy stores in Rhode Island, said CVS spokesperson Tara Burke.
“We are ready and prepared to provide both flu and COVID-19 vaccines to customers in high volumes during peak flu season,” Burke said.
The Woonsocket-based pharmacy chain commissioned a survey conducted in June among a general population of U.S. consumers on their intention to get vaccinated for the seasonal flu, showing with 71% of those surveyed this year reporting that they “definitely or likely” will get a flu shot this season, a 5 percentage-point increase over the year before.
Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC said it secured additional stock of the flu vaccine to meet a greater demand for vaccination at its 14 in-store pharmacies in the Ocean State. Walgreens Co. said it enhanced its online scheduling platform to accommodate more flu vaccine appointments, while training “thousands” of new employees to administer the shot.
It’s important to get a flu shot annually due to the genetic variation in the strains of influenza present in the community, which vaccine makers try to account for by reformulating influenza vaccines made available each year, said Dr. John Lonks, hospital epidemiologist at The Miriam Hospital in Providence.
“Influenza changes what it does year to year, and it’s hard to tell what it’s going to do this year,” Lonks said.
However, still just about half of the U.S. population gets an annual flu vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state Department of Health and the CDC recommend annual flu vaccination for anyone age 6 months or older, but the agencies both said it’s especially important for anyone age 50 or older, health care workers, pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems, and people with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer and asthma.
“It’s a common reason people lose days from work,” Lonks said. “So it’s always good that employers encourage vaccination to maintain their workforce.”
Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, said the impending workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandate may present an opportunity for employers to encourage the flu vaccine.
“It’s a good time to influence message on the flu vaccine, as well as to hold vaccine clinics on worksites with more than 100 employees,” Freeman said.
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com.