Local Experts: Second COVID Wave Potential, Flu Vaccination Is A Good Idea | Coronavirus

With the school revived and a cool autumn breeze, Dr. Armenafree has so far seen no local signs of a COVID-19 surge that most health officials expect this fall.

But that’s probably just a matter of time, said Free, chief of staff at Aniston’s Community Health Center.

“We anticipate a surge, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about viruses,” Free said. “We will see.”

Freedom and other doctors are looking to Europe and other US states when they endure the predicted “second wave” of COVID-19, something doctors have predicted since the beginning of the pandemic. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 200,000 Americans have died from the virus since the pandemic broke out more than six months ago.

The most widely used model of future viral cases conducted by the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Assessment predicts more than 170,000 deaths in the country by the end of the year.

This same model presents a new case in which the virus slowly increases in Alabama until October, accelerating to levels well beyond the surges seen this summer until November and December.

“This type of virus usually proliferates in the winter, when people spend more time in the winter,” says Free. Cold and dry air is also thought to help spread the virus.

Around the world, there are signs that autumn or winter waves have already begun. New infection rates are currently rising in 20 states, according to Johns Hopkins. New daily cases are skyrocketing across Europe.

So far, Calhoun County has entered a relatively quiet period. Approximately 32 new cases are seen per day in the county, and have not increased since mid-August when compulsory mask orders throughout the state began to show its impact.

At some point, coronavirus patients filled 58 beds in a community health center when the coronavirus surged in Alabama during the summer. According to RMC CEO Louis Bass, about 24 COVID patients were hospitalized last week, but by this week that number had increased to 33.

The summer surge came after doctors warned about the spread of the virus after an Independence Day get-together. As expected, the surge diminished after state-wide mask orders.

So far, there are no signs of a surge in Labor Day’s vacation, and no return to face-to-face school. Public health officials have been worried for the past few weeks.

Despite his calm, Free said he now has no time to give up social distance.

“We all have to act as if they were contagious,” she said.

Old enemy

Doctors are also worried about the arrival of the regular flu season. This may lead to a new influx of patients who need to be tested for COVID-19 and in some cases need to be hospitalized.

“I don’t know what flu and COVID look like together,” said Dr. Erindelani of the University of Alabama at a television press conference about the flu season and a press conference with reporters on Thursday. It is unclear how coinfection affects patients, but it is clear that each season of influenza puts additional strain on the hospital.

Delaney says it’s not too early to ask for a flu shot and parents should consider vaccination of their children.

Delaney said social distance could delay the spread of the flu, much like it delayed the coronavirus. She pointed out that the Southern Hemisphere is already experiencing a flu season that seems to support it.

Delaney was asked if there was a way to let patients know if they had coronavirus or the flu before the test results came out, but the symptoms are very similar, but COVID-19 smells better. And taste is more likely to be lost

Delaney said Halloween trick-or-treat is likely to be safe as long as people cover their faces and keep a distance. She suggested that adults should disinfect their hands before handing out the candy, or simply leave the candy in a bag at the front door for the children to pick up.

Local fall events are still expected to take place, such as high school football games and the Oxford Fest, a festival of fall arts and crafts in downtown Oxford. Tiffany Devoa, a spokeswoman for the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency, said such outdoor events could be safe as long as people adhered to the rules of social distance.

Nonetheless, EMA officials are again asking people to plan quarantine if needed within the next few months.

“It’s here and will be here for a while,” DeBoer said of the virus. “We need to have that idea.”