SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – As healthcare workers prepare for another winter of COVID-19, hospitals are looking at how to keep workers on the job through the next wave.
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This year is the third winter in the COVID-19 pandemic, but things have changed dramatically since the first round.
"Going into our first winter in the COVID-19 pandemic, really, emergency planners were terrified thinking aout what it might look like if we had a significant flu surge paired with a COVID-19 surge," said Dr. Sarah Nafziger, Vice President of Clinical Support Services and Professor of Emergency Medicine and Neurology at The University of Alabama at Birmingham on KCBS Radio’s "Ask an Expert" on Monday with Melissa Culross.
But one of the benefits of the pandemic so far, is that there really hasn’t been a flu season for the last two winters.
"And that’s been fantastic for us," said Nafziger, as that's freed up resources to focus on COVID-19.
Now, going into winter this year, things are quite different.
"It looks like our flu season is going to be here for sure and it looks like it's going to be fairly significant based on the numbers that we saw from the southern hemisphere," she said.
This has health officials concerned and preparing as best they can to combat this year's flu season coupled with whatever COVID-19 might bring.
People looking to protect themselves should still try to do more basic things, like washing their hands and covering their mouths when they cough.
Some of the more purposeful things people can do is get their flu shot and continue to wear a mask, despite the fact that most places no longer require a mask.
"This pandemic has dragged on for a long time and I know we all are so desperate to get our lives back to normal," said Nafgizer. "But some social distancing, when it's feasible, eat outside when you can, when it's pretty weather rather than inside at a crowded restaurant."
Finally, people need to stay home if they feel sick at all, she said. "Don't go out and spread germs around, especially if you don’t know what you have."
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