Local healthcare expert warns about upcoming COVID-19, flu season

With the changing weather comes the start of the flu and cold season, and healthcare experts say it's just getting started and are urging people to take precautions.

The Centers for Disease Control predictions for this flu, cold and COVID-19 season show a possibility for an increase in hospitalizations similar to what the country saw with the "Tripledemic" of all three illnesses last year.

Health officials expect to see at least a moderate COVID-19 wave similar to recent years, but the potential for an increased outbreak of flu and RSV raises concerns.

"As people move from outdoor activities to indoor activities, we expect to see a bit of a bump up in all the respiratory viruses, including COVID," said Dr. Victor Test, a pulmonologist with Texas Tech Physicians.

Locally, Test said, it is still relatively early to tell how it will play out in Lubbock, but numbers are trending upward.

"In these first few weeks of October, there's been a progressive increase in reported cases," he said. "So I expect to see a continued increase. In terms of severity, hospitalizations have not increased significantly here in Texas — but that doesn't mean they won't."

Getting COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines

The CDC has classified Texas as Level 2 for respiratory illness activity as of Oct. 19, which means COVID-19, RSV and flu are not running rampant.

However, Test encourages those in vulnerable demographics to get vaccinated before the illnesses become prevalent.

When it comes to COVID-19, Test said the new vaccines are different from the previous vaccines that were being administered early during the pandemic.

"Previous variations of the COVID-19 vaccinations were approved under emergency use application and even though there was extensive data on them, the current vaccination has had to go through the standard approval process," he said.

The current vaccination is an mRNA vaccine that teaches the body how to develop immunity to the virus, Test said. He said it has proven to be safe and effective against the newer strains.

For flu, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Influenza A, specifically H1N1, is popping up around the state.

"There's always more than one type of flu vaccination depending on age. There are live vaccinations. There are some that are egg-based or some based on cell culture and some that are generated in the lab that are separate from growing culture," Test said.

The unique thing about the flu vaccine is that it is quadrivalent, which means it gives people protection from the four major strains that are identified for the season.

Test advises anyone above the age of 65 to get vaccinations for all the viruses, including RSV.

"RSV is a virus primarily what we used to think of as a children's virus, and that's where it's most prevalent, but it can cause severe illness in people with pre-existing heart (or) lung disease," Test said.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Local health expert urges vaccination against COVID-19, flu, RSV