US officials optimistic about coming flu season but urge vaccine shots amid concerns of 'twindemic'

U.S. officials are preparing for an unprecedented fall flu season, urging Americans to get a vaccine shot, as the coronavirus pandemic goes into its sixth month.

“This could be one of the worst seasons we’ve had from a public health perspective with COVID and flu coming together. But it also could be one of the best flu seasons we’ve had,” Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press.

Redfield and other officials say that Americans wearing masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus will also help slow the seasonal flu from spreading, but they continue to urge people to get their flu shot.  

“It’s also becoming clear that wearing masks, avoiding crowds and keeping your distance are protections that are not specific for COVID [but] they’re going to work for any respiratory virus,” Redfield said.

The CDC director earlier this month said the agency usually distributes about half-a-million vaccine vials for uninsured adults but is buying 9.5 million doses this year.

The agency reported for the week ending on August 15 that 1.0% of patient-visits reported through the U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network were due to influenza-like illness – below the national baseline of 2.4%.

South Africa, Australia, Argentina, where winter has ended, report steps against the coronavirus also appear to have blocked the flu.

In Australia, the national health department reported just 36 laboratory-confirmed flu-associated deaths from January to mid-August, compared to more than 480 during the same period last year, the wire service also reports.

“The most likely and the biggest contributor is social distancing,” said Dr. Robert Booy, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Sydney.

The coronavirus is blamed for about 24 million infections and more than 810,000 deaths globally in just the first eight months of this year. A normal flu year could have the world’s hospitals dealing with several million more severe illnesses on top of the COVID-19 crush.

Officials say limited in-person school and no large gathering should also prevent flu infection and a possible “twindemic.”