The regular flu season is approaching as a wildcard as Georgia hospitals are nervous about treating COVID patients.

It won’t be long before autumn comes to Georgia, but changing seasons can bring more than cool temperatures and beautiful foliage.

For pharmacists, a cold climate means more people are coming through the door to seek relief from stuffy nose and sore throat, and to prevent the spread of the flu vaccine. October marks the beginning of the annual influenza season. This usually gets worse as mercury drops before the end around May. And Georgia hospitals are still full of COVID-19 patients, and bad flu seasons can put additional strain on health care workers who are already stressed.

Anna Adams, Senior Vice President of Foreign Affairs, Georgia Hospital Association, said: “With this number of COVID inpatients in addition to the normal number of patients, we already have the problem that people experience very long waiting times and ambulances have to wait because the beds and staff are not there. It takes a long time to hospitalize patients because there is no space or staff. Adding to that the surge of influenza, the number of hospitalized patients far exceeds the capacity. “

Experts recommend getting a flu shot as soon as possible, as it can take up to 2 weeks to provide full protection.

The beginning of the season

Nikki Bryant, owner of the Adams Family Pharmacy in Preston and Cuthbert, said vaccinations have begun in both locations and people are beginning to be vaccinated against the flu each year.

“Retail pharmacies have pre-ordered influenza vaccines because they need to be pre-ordered early in February, March, etc. High doses over 65 are already available, but 65 years old I haven’t been vaccinated against less than regular flu yet, “she said. “Last year was pretty calm. I mean, I still took a lot of shots, but the flu season as people were washing their hands, wearing masks, and keeping a social distance for COVID. Was very mild. There wasn’t much of a flu epidemic. “

In fact, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 1% of respiratory specimens tested in US clinical laboratories were positive for influenza virus. Usually, the number of positive tests is close to 30%. Hospitalization and flu deaths were also significantly lower than usual.

Although it’s difficult to predict the severity of the flu season before it begins, Brian said last year’s low rates could indicate a stronger flu season this year. She wants more people to be vaccinated against the flu before seeking advice on treating the symptoms of the flu.

“Reports say this year will be worse than in the past because people are not immune,” she said. “Every year when we are exposed to the flu, getting the flu and getting vaccinated boosts our immunity, and last year not so many people were exposed and more people went out. They went to ball games. Going and children go to school, so all these factors that just brought people together into groups and returned to normal would be further exposed to the flu, so we are more We encourage people to be vaccinated against the flu, but vaccination rates in this part of the country are quite low. “

Georgia behind flu shots

In recent months, much attention has been paid to delays in the COVID-19 vaccination rate in Georgia. According to CDC data compiled by the New York Times, only 43% of Georgians are fully vaccinated with COVID-19, ranking 44th in the state after North Dakota, Mississippi, Alabama, Idaho, Wyoming and West Virginia. It has become.

More Georgians have received at least one COVID shot, 53% of which rank the state 41st on the index. This may indicate that vaccine-resistant Georgians are changing their minds. However, some health experts point to another vaccine statistic, influenza vaccination rates, that is likely to be important in the coming months.

Last year, only 36% of Georgians were vaccinated against the flu, making the state second from the bottom of the American health rankings. Annual report.. Only Nevada’s influenza vaccination rate is low.

According to the CDC guidance, it is safe to take the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines at the same time.

This means that healthcare providers can provide influenza vaccinations to people who come looking for a COVID vaccine and may immunize more Georgians with the flu.

That’s a plan for Marietta’s pool pharmacy, co-owner Thomas Scheller said.

“We are still doing a lot of COVID shots. We have helped the community by having the health department go home and give COVID vaccines to those who go home. Injections over the weekend. , I’m going out next week, so maybe I should get vaccinated against influenza with me. Give it a try and double it, “he said.

Scheller said last week he created a prescription for Tamiflu to be used to treat the symptoms of the flu.

Scheller refused to predict what the flu season would be, but hopes that the lessons learned from the pandemic will help fight the flu again this year.

“I’m not sure what happens during the flu season. If you keep masking and washing your hands, the flu will really go down,” he said. “And you know, that’s what we tell everyone every year, if you’re sick, stay home and wash your hands. Now that COVID has arrived, it’s to prevent the spread of the flu. It’s time to re-emphasize how well is working. “

Dr. Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, an associate professor of epidemiology at Georgia Southern University’s Giann-Ping Hsu University of Public Health, said that in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are concerns that the influenza season could worsen, but avoid it. He said it wasn’t impossible.

“If you go back to your pre-pandemic behavior and choose not to vaccinate, you may have a double epidemic with both COVID and influenza, but if you choose to vaccinate both, or With very strong vaccines, social distance and face mask behavior can build protection against both, “Fung said.

Vaccine repellent varieties

However, it has been difficult so far to convince Georgians to take collective action against COVID-19. Many are fed up with restrictions and others don’t trust the professionals who demand them.

However, Georgians are not completely against the vaccine. According to the same American Health Rankings Report, nearly 80% of Georgia’s children have standard pediatric immunity, making the state the 14th best in the country.

Oregon, the state with the lowest child vaccination rates, far outperforms Georgia with COVID-19 vaccination in 12th place.

Such differences underscore the fact that vaccine repellents can reach their beliefs through completely different political ideologies rather than monoliths, Fung said.

“The reason these groups of people don’t vaccinate their children is very different from the southern Georgian people who chose not to vaccinate the COVID-19 vaccine,” Fung said. “That is, they are different groups of people who have very different idealisms and worldviews and different views on vaccines.”

The broader vaccine repellent movement has gained a great foothold in the west, primarily among liberal, mostly white and relatively wealthy parents. That kind of vaccine repellent sentiment was less common in Georgia, It shows A correlation between Republican voters and Peach County’s COVID vaccine skepticism.

“Thankfully, we have a relatively high percentage of pediatric immunity in both the Democratic and Republican camps here in Georgia,” he said. “Childhood immunization is not politicized, and people across the political spectrum strongly believe it. I don’t think even Georgia has flu vaccines politicized. It has to do with access. there is.”

Georgia is ranked 49th in access to care in the US Health Rankings, and rural residents have long been a part of it. Suffering Due to the closure of hospitals and the shortage of clinics.

“They don’t think it’s necessary, or for people living in the countryside of Georgia, it takes a long drive to get a flu shot, but for COVID vaccination, it’s easy politics here in Georgia. It can be turned into a flu, “said the fan. “In general, I don’t think people reject the idea of ​​vaccines, but for a variety of reasons I don’t fully understand, some vaccines are politicized in Georgia and others are politicized. It doesn’t seem to be done. “