In Plymouth, with sunny skies and lazy days at the beach here, not many are thinking about the flu season, but the Board of Health is and in particular about the combination of the flu and COVID-19, potentially a very dangerous situation.
Bobbi Clark has more:
Barry Potvin, Chair of the Board of Health, told the group why the matter is being discussed now:
“The reason this is coming up now is because of the pandemic, it has been suggested by medical officials, that it would be very dangerous for anyone to simultaneously become infected with influenza as well as the corona virus.
And Potvin says there’s another problem, the symptoms of influenza can mimic those of the corona virus infection:
“So, this could cause a lot of problems with the hospitals and it could cause problems with the schools and it could cause very high risk and apparently much more serious complications for anybody who should get infected with both of these viruses at the same time.”
Early to mid-October is the best time to get the flu vaccine, according to Potvin:
“And that’s because as most of you probably know, the flu vaccine only is actually effective for about 3 to 4 months after it’s given.”
The focus of Board Member Nancy Gantz is prevention:
“Influenza is preventable and so we should try our best as a Health Department and the Board of Health to remove that layer of risk that’s in the mix for everyone—our elderly and school children especially.”
The Board continues this discussion at their next meeting on August 12th.
