Today is Thursday August 6, 2020
When pandemic meets epidemic or coronavirus versus the flu or when the sh*t hits the fan.
What experts do not know is what will happen when the seasonal flu runs up against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Some experts believe undoubtedly there will be waves of COVID-19 throughout the fall. which is not much of a prediction because there have been waves though the summer and all along the way since mid-March. Australian is batting down the hatches as they face a second lock down to help squash a second wave.
The upcoming flu season brings with it a myriad of problems mainly because it appears the spread of COVID-19 will still be occurring. First is fact that many hospitals will already be overwhelmed and hospital beds may not be available for those in need. Second will be determining which virus a patient has, coronavirus or the flu, as the symptoms are often indistinguishable. A third variable is just how COVID-19 will react to the flu.
This article from The Guardian can explain it better than I can, "Every autumn there is a predictable series of outbreaks of respiratory viruses. It starts with rhinovirus, the main cause of the common cold, which breaks out every September as young children go to school and swap mucus...The rhinovirus subsides as most children are exposed and their immune systems activate. Then another virus breaks out: respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Every year in October or November, this causes mild colds in people of all ages, but sometimes severe lung infections in the youngest and oldest of us...Then RSV subsides, and the annual flu epidemic sets in, anywhere from early winter to spring, driven mainly by transmission among children, but taking its main toll among the elderly..."
The mystery of COVID-19 continues as we move forward.
Rising case reports and anxiety is keeping everyone on edge.
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