Combining COVID-19 with Severe Flu Season Could Strain US Health System, Expert Warns
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A US medical specialist warned that a severe flu season combined with the highly virulent COVID-19 disease could put a strain on the US healthcare system.
"If we have even a moderate-to-high influenza season that generates 300,000 or 400,000 hospitalizations and are also having to deal with a fall or winter COVID wave, that could put a strain on hospital systems around the country," an article published Friday in Time quoted Brandon Webb, an infectious disease specialist at Utah State's Intermountain Medical Center, as saying.
Flu season severity varies from year to year, depending on various factors, including immunity in the population and the circulating influenza strain.
"We're looking at globally, and especially in the US, record low community immunity levels to influenza," Webb said.