How To Figure Out If You Have The Spring Flu Or Covid
So, what should you do if youre feeling sick?
Get tested, Barron advises.
Since COVID-19 is widespread, you can get tested first for the coronavirus.
If you test negative for COVID-19, and you havent had exposure to people with the flu, you could be getting a false negative for COVID-19 or you could have the flu. The symptoms are similar: fever, body aches, cough, Barron said.
Furthermore, a small number of people have gotten sick with both COVID-19 and the flu at the same time.
That kind of double whammy is not common, Barron said.
Nonetheless, its good to get tested. COVID-19 tests are available both at home and at health facilities. Please keep in mind that home tests are not as reliable as a nasal swab, PCR tests. With an at-home test, you can get false-negative results. So, if youre feeling sick, be careful about exposing other people.
To get a flu test, contact your doctors office.
If you test positive for either the flu or COVID-19, there are treatments you can get to shorten the duration of your illness or reduce the severity. Barron advises people to act fast.
The antiviral medication that helps fight the flu is called Tamiflu and people need to start taking it quickly, within about 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.
If you test positive for COVID-19, you might also qualify to get additional treatments. Its best to start these treatments within about five days of symptom onset.
National Center For Health Statistics Mortality Surveillance
On June 6, 2022, the National Vital Statistics System cause of death coding system began a system-wide upgrade, which required a temporary suspension of routine NVSS surveillance reporting.The upgrade required all 2022 death records to be reprocessed into the system.As routine NVSS surveillance reporting resumes, users may temporarily observe lower death counts for prior weeks in 2022 as the backlog is reprocessed and reloaded into the system.
Based on NCHS mortality surveillance data available on July 14, 2022, 8.8% of the deaths that occurred during the week ending July 9, 2022 , were due to pneumonia, influenza, and/or COVID-19 . This percentage is above the epidemic threshold of 5.7% for this week. Among the 1,796 PIC deaths reported for this week, 876 had COVID-19 listed as an underlying or contributing cause of death on the death certificate, and 13 listed influenza, indicating that current PIC mortality is due primarily to COVID-19 and not influenza. The data presented are preliminary and may change as more data are received and processed.
Surveillance Methods | FluView Interactive
Lessons From Uk’s Lifting Of All Covid
The move by the UK and other countries to abandon all Covid-19 restrictions was welcome news to some, and unsettling to others. Ultimately, it offers clues on what a return to normalcy will look like for Australia and other countries.
To prevent incoming flu epidemics from overwhelming health systems and making lots of people sick, authorities are repeating the same well-worn advice we’ve been hearing for the past two years: Get vaccinated, and keep up the hygiene routine.
Australia’s Acting Chief Medical Officer says annual vaccination is “the most important measure to prevent influenza and its complications”.
Dr Sullivan said it was important for people with any symptoms of respiratory virus – even if they test negative for Covid-19 – to stay home and isolate from others while they’re feeling unwell.
Health authorities also recommend covering coughs and sneezes, regular hand-washing, and using face masks where social distancing is not possible.
It’s a familiar message, and Dr Sullivan says it’s not the only thing we can learn from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“, we didn’t have the surveillance systems in place that we do now. So we have this really good opportunity to try to understand those patterns of circulation and transmission a bit better,” she said.
– ABC
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Whats Going Around Fl Flu Super Cold Covid
FLORIDA Though the number of new COVID-19 cases has dropped significantly in Florida since this summers surge, which was largely driven by the emergence of the delta coronavirus variant, residents and visitors still need to remain alert when it comes to threats to their health.
Not only was the latest coronavirus variant, omicron, detected in Florida for the first time Tuesday, but other illnesses including the cold, flu and respiratory syncytial virus are popping up in various areas across the state.
Just under 11,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the state during the week of Nov. 26 through Dec. 2, according to data from the Florida Department of Health. Thats a far cry from this summer, when tens of thousands of cases were sometimes reported in a single day and some weeks saw more than 150,000 new cases.
Still, the omicron variant, which was confirmed at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa on Tuesday, has many people on edge across the globe and in Florida, especially as the 2021-22 cold and flu season arrives in the Sunshine State.
Much remains unknown about omicron, including whether it is more contagious, as some health authorities suspect, whether it can thwart vaccines and whether it makes people as sick as the original strain, according to the Associated Press.
A total of 33 counties about half the counties in the state saw an increase in flu cases that week.
Annual Flu Vaccines Have Also Played A Role
Dr McCauley works with the WHO to identify new strains of influenza and potential new components for upcoming vaccines.
To do that, scientists around the world work to identify new strains of influenza A and B, and determine whether or not last season’s influenza vaccine needs to be updated.
Dr McCauley said that process was not as easy as it was before Covid-19.
“With the lack of homogeneity in different countries, it has become more difficult. However, we’re still receiving viruses from around the world and we can still recognise what is in circulation and draw up a general picture,” he said.
“The world is less connected now than it was. This may well the patchiness we’re seeing.
“We haven’t reached an equilibrium. We are still probably travelling less around the world overall.”
With less travel comes less virus circulation and less information from which to formulate vaccines.
“If you can’t have people moving out of China, that’s ⦠a very large population that’s still isolated. The impact is still there,” Dr McCauley said.
In the US, health and medical bodies are still encouraging the uptake of the current northern hemisphere flu vaccine to try to minimise the amount of severe disease and hospital admissions as the tail end of their season.
However, the CDC has noted late-season infections are a strain of the H3N2 subtype of Influenza A, which the current vaccine does not comprehensively cover.
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Where Do I Get The Flu Vaccine
It’s offered at doctor offices, clinics, health departments, college health centers, pharmacies, and some schools, among other locations.
Many insurance plans pay for the annual vaccination, and older adults covered under Medicare Part B can get the vaccine free, with no copay or deductible.
To find a source for vaccines in your area, go to the Vaccine Finder .
Outpatient Respiratory Illness Visits
Nationwide during week 27, 1.7% of patient visits reported through ILINet were due to respiratory illness that included fever plus a cough or sore throat, also referred to as ILI. Multiple respiratory viruses are co-circulating, and the relative contribution of influenza virus infection to ILI varies by location.
* Effective October 3, 2021 , the ILI definition no longer includes without a known cause other than influenza.
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The Flu Vax Protects Against Four Viruses
- Two influenza A:
In the US, health and medical bodies are still encouraging the uptake of the current northern hemisphere flu vaccine to try to minimise the amount of severe disease and hospital admissions as the tail end of their season.
However, the CDC has noted late-season infections are a strain of the H3N2 subtype of Influenza A, which the current vaccine does not comprehensively cover.
“While preliminary vaccine effectiveness estimates suggest that this season’s vaccine did not reduce the risk of getting sick and needing outpatient medical care from H3N2 flu, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that flu vaccination attenuates severe illness, even when the circulating viruses have antigenic differences from the vaccine virus,”the CDC said in March as a second spike of infections began.
Dr McCauley said that, ahead of the last US flu season, two new strains were circulating.
“At the time when the virus had to be handed over to the manufacturers, the only one that was available for use is a virus that would have originated from Cambodia and that virus was not the one that mostly spread, and so it didn’t correspond completely ,” he said.
The WHO has already released updated recommendations for the composition of the new flu shot for the next northern hemisphere season.
“You’re always looking to see what’s been seen in the southern hemisphere,” Dr McCauley said.
With Winter Coming And Australians Resuming Normal Life Amid Easing Restrictions The Floodgates Have Opened To A Myriad Of Pathogens File Image
With winter coming and Australians resuming normal life amid easing restrictions, the floodgates have opened to a myriad of pathogens – and some of them are causing an illness very difficult to differentiate from COVID-19.
Of particular concern is a so-called super cold, which is not simply one new mega-virus but an onslaught of many different viruses hitting unprepared immune systems.
Watch the video above to see what a new sub-variant means for the coming months
Watch the latest News on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus > >
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners chair and head of general practice at The University of Notre Dame, Dr Charlotte Hespe told 7NEWS.com.au about the differences between a cold and COVID, and what that means for those who fall ill.
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Heres Whats Going Around
Health experts agree that its still far too soon to predict exactly how flu activity is going to pan out this year.
So far, it is still too early to state whether this years flu season will be more or less than what is typical. It is important to note that even in a typical year, the flu has substantial impact, says Dr. Richard Martinello, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases expert.
Flu season usually peaks around , but surveillance charts are showing that flu activity is starting to pick up around the country.
Were currently seeing three strains in the United States:
- A , which circulated during the latter half of last years flu season
- B/Victoria, the strain the Southern Hemisphere saw
- H1N1, which we typically see this time of year
According to Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious diseases specialist and senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the illnesses the strains cause share similar symptoms fever, chills, cough, and body aches.
Influenza B is a strain of flu that can cause ordinary flu-like symptoms and severe illness as well . The differences between influenza A and B are not really apparent clinically, Adalja said.
However, just because were seeing these strains now doesnt mean theyll dominate all season. Even when we think we know which strain is going to pop up, influenza viruses can quickly change and swing another way, according to Yale Medicine.
Will The Flu Vaccine Make Me Sick
The influenza vaccine does not contain any live virus but rather fragments of the virus, so it cant cause flu.
The most common side effects from flu shots are soreness, redness, tenderness or swelling where the shot was given. Low-grade fever, headache and muscle aches also may occur 1-2 days after vaccination.
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What Should I Do If I Think I Am Getting The Flu
Stay home, rest, and avoid contact with others except to get medical care if needed, experts say. Avoid contact with others for at least 24 hours after the fever subsides to avoid spreading the flu.
Be on the lookout for emergency warning signs that you may be getting serious flu-related complications.
In children, these include:
- Symptoms that improve but then return with a fever and worsening cough.
I Have The Flu What Do I Do
If you have the flu, you should speak to your doctor as soon as possible. Many people think that there is nothing medically available to treat the flu. However, doctors can prescribe anti-viral drugs that can make the infection milder and shorten the time you are sick if taken within the first two days following the onset of symptoms.
You should also try to limit the spread of the virus to family and those around you by
- Limiting your contact with other family members for at least 24 hours after fever subsides.
- Wearing a mask, covering your nose and mouth when you sneeze and disposing of tissues.
- Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.
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What Should Individuals Do
Get vaccinated at the earliest opportunity and when called to do so by their local health authority, particularly if they are in an at-risk group or are working in a health-care environment.
We would also recommend adopting the protective measures that are known to work against COVID-19, such as physical distancing and mask wearing, to help prevent influenza infection of the elderly and those with severe underlying medical conditions.
Cdc Reports Two New Variant Influenza Virus Infections
CDC today reported two new U.S. human infections with influenza viruses that usually spread in pigs and not people. These types of infections are called variant influenza virus infections and denoted with the letter v after the influenza subtype. One of these variant influenza virus infections is the first to occur during the 2021-2022 flu reporting season and the other reported infection is the 11th infection that occurred during the 2020-2021 season . These infections serve as a reminder of the importance of following CDCs recommended precautions around swine as well as the importance of ongoing surveillance to detect potential pandemic viruses.
There are three main groups of influenza viruses that commonly spread among pigs in the United States: H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2 viruses. These viruses have important antigenic and genetic differences from seasonal influenza A viruses that circulate worldwide among people. The two newest infections, one an H3N2v virus and the other an H1N1v virus, occurred in children. Neither child was hospitalized, and both have recovered or are recovering from their illness.
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
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Who Gets Hit The Hardest By The Flu
Children, older adults, pregnant women, anyone with a chronic medical condition, and health care workers are especially vulnerable to getting the flu or to having complications such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and sinus and ear infections.
Children younger than 2 are especially vulnerable. Those ages 6 months and under are also much more likely to get complications, but they’re too young to be vaccinated, so the best idea is to be sure everyone in contact with them is vaccinated.
Adults ages 65 years and above are at greater risk than younger, healthy adults due to weakened immune systems. Typically, these older adults account for most flu-related deaths and more than half of flu-related hospitalizations.
Pregnant women, as well as those who have delivered a baby in the previous 2 weeks, are more likely to have a severe illness than women who aren’t pregnant.
Anyone with a chronic medical condition is more likely to have complications. These conditions include:
- Asthma
- Shots made with a virus grown in cell culture, not eggs. They can be taken by people with allergies.
- Shots made using a different technology that does not require the use of the flu virus
- Nasal spray vaccine made with a live virus. Approved for ages 2 to 49, it is not for pregnant women and people with weakened immunity, among other conditions.
Children who have never been vaccinated against the flu will need two doses, spaced at least 4 weeks apart.
Health & Wellnessrsv Is ‘particularly Bad’ This Season Hospitals Around The Country Warn
And there’s no word yet on how effective the flu vaccine is this season. Schaffner told NBC News that the vaccine appears to be a good match for the H1N1 strain, but perhaps not quite as good for the B strain that’s been circulating.
But “even if you get the flu shot and get flu, having received the vaccine makes it very likely that your illness will be less severe,” Schaffner said. “It’ll be shorter, and it’s less likely to develop into the complications of pneumonia, and having to be hospitalized.”
Dr. Nafissa Cisse Egbuonye with the Black Hawk County Health Department in Iowa agreed. “Once you get the vaccine, it doesnt mean you wont get the flu,” she told NBC affilliate KWWL. “What it does is prevents you from dire consequences.
It’s not too late to get vaccinated. Flu season can last well into March and April.
“Run, do not walk, do not linger,” Schaffner said. “If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, get it this afternoon.”
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Is It Worth Getting Vaccinated Against The Flu
3D graphical representation of the biology and structure of a generic influenza virus
Yes. The vaccine targets three of the most common types of the flu type A H1N1 and H3N2, as well as a type B. Vaccination against the flu is particularly recommended for people with underlying conditions such as asthma, pregnant women, the elderly and health workers.
Its even more worthwhile for the 2022 flu season, because herd immunity is low as we havent been exposed to flu the last couple of years, due to social distancing. Because of this, we are now seeing higher than normal numbers of cases.
Additionally, we are seeing cases of flu and Covid-19 together, which is referred to as flurona.