Deaconess preparing for flu season and Covid-19 collision

Deaconess preparing for flu season and Covid-19 collision

A perfect storm health officials say could happen as the global pandemic and the upcoming flu season collide.... 44news reporter marisa patwa has the latest on how doctors are preparing for it.

Do i have covid or do i have the fl?

Many people may be asking themselves as the flu season looms around the corner.

"i actually had the flu -- but the covid testing wasn't available yet.

So -- i could have had covid at one point."

And health officials are already preparing for the increased workload that comes with handling viruses with similar symptoms. "whether it's fever -- cough -- shortness of breath, muscle aches, sinus congestion, fatigue, i mean some of these broad symptoms that can present as the flu.

As we learn more and more about covid.

We learn that these to viruses present more similarly than different."

One thing people won have to worry about?

Is getting both a shot and a nasal swab.

"we really expect that any patient that presents with symptoms of flu or covid will most likely need both tests.

And we're working towards a process where we will have both tests available on the same swab.

So if you get swabbed on time -- that we'll be able to run both tests on that same swab."

While the flu vaccine doesn prevent someone from getting covid-19, doctors encourage people to take every precaution necessary to keep themselves and the public safe.

"and we hope that by getting the word out by to get your flu vaccine and take these measures as far as distancing and wearing a mask, we can continue to mitigate the spread throughout our community."

Deaconess will be providing flu and covid-19 testing at their drive thru cites at the end of september.

Reporting in evansville marisa patwa 44news new tonight