Flu Season’s Double-Edged Sword

Colder weather, plummeting temperatures and approaching snowfall mark Novembers in Colorado, and many places across the country. With the approach of the holidays, many of us are reminded that these joyous times can sometimes be tainted by a rising prevalence of colds and flus. And in the wake of a global pandemic, that brings along its own new set of complications.

As COVID-19 and the Delta variant continue to be a persistent threat in our world, At one point last month, 13 Denver hospitals were on divert status at the same time, meaning Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were directed to take non-critical patients to less busy medical facilities in more remote areas in order to manage capacities at the busier hospitals. And while a hospital going on divert status is not unusual, the frequency with which it has been happening is.

With this is mind, the reality of being able to be seen by a doctor for something as “non-critical” as the flu at a major metropolitan hospital may be less likely. Of course, there are still Urgent Cares and such, but understanding that we are not out of the woods when it comes to COVID is important as we head into this upcoming flu season.

The list of elevated risks as we head into our winter months does not end with the higher capacities at hospitals. The possibility of contracting both COVID and the flu at the same time is also a factor, and because COVID-19 is a relatively new virus, scientists and medical experts simply don’t have enough data to know what that will look like. It’s possible that unknown complications could present if that were to happen, making effective treatment even more difficult. And with people such as the elderly, children under two years old, and those with pre-existing conditions such as asthma, high blood pressure and heart disorders, the possible dangers could be multiplied.

But there’s more…

The 2020-2021 flu season (last year’s flu season) presented us with an unexpected double-edged sword. With the prolific uses of masks intended to stunt the spread of COVID, medical experts witnessed a drastic reduction in people coming into hospitals for the flu. Basically, the flu season that was anticipated based on the previous year’s numbers…. well, it just didn’t happen.

In 2019-2020, the flu season brought in about 18 million people in the United States to see doctors, according to the CDC, 400,000 of which had to be hospitalized. Of those, about 32,000 died. But last year, in the 2020-2021 season, those numbers plummeted. It’s hard to say for certain exactly how many people got influenza last year, but the best guesses by epidemiologists, whose job it is to study such things, have the number hovering around the low 20,000s. This astonishing drop in cases of course seems like a huge unintended benefit to arise from the COVID pandemic. However, there’s a catch. Because each year’s flu vaccine is based on strains that have been circulating the globe during the previous 12 months, it is difficult to predict how the upcoming 2021–2022 vaccine will fare should the typical patterns of infection return. The World Health Organization made its flu strain recommendations in late February as usual, but as a result of the drastic reduction in cases last year, they were basically based on an educated guess.

So on the one hand, it could turn out that the flu vaccines are right on the mark, and due to lowered numbers of cases, there is less chance for mutation, which could mean the efficacy remains high. But on the other hand is a big unknown. Literally, we don’t know what’s going to happen this year. The susceptible population will be much bigger this season, as the enormous pool of individuals who had no exposure to influenza last year become vulnerable. There is a chance that the dominant strains weren’t correctly identified, given the reduced cases, so a mutation that was unexpected is a possibility, albeit a small one. And IF that is the situation that emerges as we make our way into winter, there is a chance that the flu vaccines could be LESS effective than they previously have been.

Case in point: it’s more important than ever to remain healthy this flu season. And with several tools at our disposal, that is a very real possibility, but we must be diligent. Steadfast hand-washing, mask-wearing, and reasonable social distancing can all be extremely helpful, but committing to integrative health practices such as acupuncture and herbs can help create even more resilience to these viruses.  Schedule an appointment with our clinic and talk to your practitioner about getting on the appropriate herbal formula today!