According to a news report that was recently published on CNN, the US is bracing for a combination of threats this winter as both COVID-19 and the flu spread and fall into a seasonal pattern.
Former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, told CNN:
“I think the twin threats of this pathogen and the flu circulating every winter, as coronaviruses settle into a more seasonal pattern, is going to be too much for society to bear… I think we’re going to have to readjust how we live our lives.”
Is it true that the world is going to have to change how it lives due to the dual seasonal threat of the flu and COVID 19?
As it turns out, Dr Gottlieb believes that we will.
And he’s not alone.
Currently, just over 55% of the US population is fully vaccinated against COVID.
Many businesses, schools, and workplaces have implemented vaccine mandates in the hopes of managing the spread of the disease. Evidence also seems to show that vaccine mandates do accomplish the goal of getting more people to take the vaccine.
But of course, public opinions about vaccine mandates vary widely across the board.
But how is our society going to cope with COVID-19 becoming a major seasonal occurrence?
Well, according to the CNN report, Dr Gottlieb said that schools and workplaces will have to make big changes.
“We’re going to have to improve air filtration and quality indoors. People will be wearing masks—I think, optionally… We’re going to probably try to de-densify offices in the wintertime to try to reduce the risk, probably move conferences that might be held in the wintertime to the fall (or) the spring.”
Of course, there are other factors on the horizon that could contribute to helping us control Covid-19 as we move forward into the future.
For example, vaccine boosters are likely to expand and help protect the vaccinated even more from the threat of disease.
Booster doses of the Pfizer Covid vaccine are now available for people ages 65 and older, and have also been approved for some adults with underlying medical conditions who are at an increased risk for different types of infections.
There are also health experts looking into whether or not those who have taken the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines could possibly get Pfizer boosters before those companies release their own boosters.
There hasn’t been any official data on the safety or efficacy of mixing different brands of Covid-19 vaccine together.
But according to news sources, data on this will soon be submitted to the FDA for review.
In the meantime, it still sounds like common sense flu and Covid prevention techniques mostly fall into the hands of local leadership, educators, business owners, and individuals as we all strive to stay safe and healthy in the face of this potentially life-altering seasonal disease dual-threat.
Many are hopeful that we’ve seen the worst of the Delta variant wave. But that certainly doesn’t mean that we’re in for an easy 2021-2022 winter.
In fact, 2022 will likely show us exactly how dangerous this double seasonal threat will be for the foreseeable future.
Let’s err on the side of optimism, and hope that it isn’t too bad.