25 Sep Knowing the Difference Between Flu & COVID-19!
We curated this excellent article by Tyler Smith from UCHealth Today. The subject: “Knowing the difference between flu and COVID-19. “According to Smith, “The need to get a flu vaccination is always great, but especially so with the COVID-19 pandemic far from over.” You might also want to revisit a story we posted on April 3rd that charts symptoms of cold v.allergies v. Covid.
Knowing the difference between the flu and COVID-19 is essential during the ongoing pandemic and it is more important than ever to get a flu shot.
The approach of fall brings pleasant prospects for many of us: crisp mornings that melt into warm, sunny afternoons; the changing colors of shimmering aspens; the reassuring routine of children returning to school. Each fall, however, also brings back an unwelcome visitor: the influenza virus, which for several months starting in September visits various forms of misery on tens of millions with fever – coughing, sore throats, muscle aches and, in significant numbers, hospitalizations and even deaths.
Knowing the difference between flu and the virus that causes COVID-19:
Every flu season is challenging for patients and health care providers, but the one approaching is like no other. It will arrive in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic spawned by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. To say COVID-19 disrupted life in the United States is a considerable understatement. In mid-August, just seven months after seeing its first confirmed case, the country had recorded some 5.7 million cases of the disease and 177,000 deaths caused by it. In Colorado, more than 55,000 people contracted COVID-19 during the same period, and more than 1,900 died from it.
The onslaught of COVID-19 stretched health care resources thin in some parts of the country, but the fight began at the tail end of the 2019-2020 flu season. With the new flu season looming, the strain promises to increase, but people can do their part to ease it by getting a flu vaccination, either with a shot or nasal spray.
The vaccine, though not a foolproof protection against influenza, greatly increases your chances of warding off illness and protecting others from it. That, in turn, will prevent trips to the emergency room and the hospital and reduce stress on health care workers and facilities.
Flu season also brings with it plenty of questions about the disease and the need for vaccinations.
Herewith, some answers…
Continue reading here for Smith’s answers to key questions like What is the flu? Why should I worry about it? How do I protect myself against the flu? Just what is the vaccine?
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