Update: ‘Twindemic’ Concerns Grow as Flu Cases Start to Amount. Are You Prepared?

As JUCM readers know, public health officials have expressed concern that the much dreaded—but previously unrealized—simultaneous spike in influenza and SARS-CoV-2 could overwhelm the U.S. healthcare system, kill unknown masses of patients, and pummel the nation’s economy. Unfortunately, fresh insights gleaned from the start of the U.S. flu season are doing nothing assuage those fears. In fact, Vanderbilt infectious disease professor and highly regarded public health expert William Schaffner, MD told NPR just last week, “This could very well be the year in which we see a twindemic.” In addition, Texas, Georgia, and the District of Columbia have all reported relatively high influenza activity for this part of the season. The same holds true for pediatricians in Southern California, according to an article published by Becker’s Hospital Review. And, according to an article published in Becker’s Hospital Review. Finally, the Mayo clinic just released data indicating that after months of declining caseloads, certain parts of the country could see at least a 10% increase in the number of COVID cases in the coming weeks. Given the fact that social distancing due to COVID-19 had the added benefit of reducing spread of influenza, this may be the first “real” flu season we’ve seen in years. Help your team revisit how to prepare by reading An Urgent Care Approach to Influenza—Before Onset in the JUCM archive.