Healthier Together: Cold and flu season is upon us

Cold, flu, COVID-19, and RSV—The virus season is upon us, and it could get even worse as the temperature drops.

In today’s Healthier Together, KIRO 7′s Ranji Sinha examines the season and speaks to Dr. Nicole Saint Clair, Executive Medical Director of Regence BlueShield, for insight on how things could go as viruses continue to spread.

Towards the end of summer, Dr. Saint Clair admitted that viral spread was already on the rise.

“There’s been a significant summer spike and we’ve seen this across the West Coast,” Dr. Saint Clair said.

She admitted that the spike in COVID-19 activity late in the summer and as school opened back up could be a signal for the fall cold and flu season.

Dr. Saint Clair hopes everyone has gotten their primary series of shots already.

“Flu, COVID, RSV... call those the big three for the fall and they’re all trending. Again, you may have noticed someone who had COVID, but you may have noticed someone who was just sick,” Dr. Saint Clair said.

She says infection rates are up; after years of isolation and vigilance, people’s guards are down, and travel is up. That often adds up to a spike in all viral infections.

For RSV, she recommends pregnant women get vaccinated since it often hits very young children.

“Babies don’t really make their antibodies for six months. They really rely on what they’ve gotten from the mom,” Dr. Saint Clair said.

She also said seniors are also at risk for RSV and should speak to their doctors about the RSV vaccine.

Dr. Saint Clair knows that the regular season viruses are already spreading along with some that are not typical.

“Cold and flu are going around. We’re also starting to see a little bit of the one or two-day stomach viruses,” Dr. Saint Clair said.

She says really good hand hygiene and covering your cough are the gold standards for keeping yourself safe along with masking if you’re around people who are sick.

Despite recommendations, a new survey shows Americans are less concerned about respiratory illness.

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases found through a survey that fewer than 1 in 5 US adults are worried about flu, COVID-19, and other diseases.

Dr. Mandy Cohen, Director of the CDC, says vaccinations could be the key to seeing how the cold and flu season goes.

“We have the power to shape how this season is going to go. Because if last season is a prediction of this season, that means 800,000 hospitalizations of flu, COVID, and RSV,” Dr. Cohen said.

Health officials from the federal government and local health departments are aware that there should be a good supply of vaccines this season, and they may match up with the viral strains already out there.

The CDC expects this flu season to be similar to last year, which was moderately severe, with an estimated 41 million illnesses, 490,000 hospitalizations, and 25,000 flu-related deaths.

Flu season has been raging in the southern hemisphere, and CDC data shows that in five South American countries, current vaccines reduce the risks of flu-associated hospitalization by 35%.

Similar impacts could happen here, but the CDC says people must be vaccinated to hit those numbers.

For this season, the FDA has approved a combination at-home test for both flu and COVID.

It uses nasal swabs and can detect influenza A, influenza B, and strains of COVID, giving patients potentially another tool to combat the spread of infections.

CBS News reported earlier this year that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted marketing authorization for the Healgen Rapid Check COVID-19/Flu A&B Antigen Test.

The test, authorized for use without a prescription, is for use by individuals experiencing respiratory symptoms and uses a nasal swab sample to deliver at-home results in approximately 15 minutes for COVID-19 and Influenza.

Another metric for this season in comparison to last, the CDC also reported nearly 200 children died last flu season, and many were not vaccinated.

Dr. Celine Gounder is a CBS News Medical Contributor and admitted that there are still issues in the general public when it comes to trusting vaccines.

“I think, unfortunately, coming out of the COVID pandemic we have seen a rise in vaccine skepticism. People less willing to get vaccinated. And as we have seen with the pediatric flu vaccines that has led to increased hospitalizations and as well as unfortunately some deaths,” Dr. Gounder said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends everyone six months and older get the annual flu vaccine.

Dr. Gounder hopes people heed that advice as this cold and flu season gets underway.

“So, sometime before Thanksgiving, mid-November, you want to get your flu shot, your COVID shot. But that said, whenever you can get it done you should get it done. Even If it’s a bit earlier than that,” Dr. Gounder said.

©2024 Cox Media Group