FORT SMITH, Ark. — With flu season right around the corner, many schools are preparing to set up clinics on campus.
With the combination of flu season and overlapping with the coronavirus pandemic, doctors are warning that it could be a recipe for an unprecedented health disaster. They hope it can be mitigated if people get their annual flu shot though.
Dr. Lee Johnson, an ER physician in Fort Smith, says that a bad flu season on top of the pandemic could create further strain on emergency room capacity.
“We’re seeing an increase volume not just because of COVID but also starting to now because of the flu season coming in," Dr. Johnson said. "We usually start seeing respiratory illness sometime in the early fall and this is about the time we start to see that so we especially want to try and keep people out of the emergency department and one way to try and do that is preventing people from getting the flu."
The Springdale School District is beginning to offer the flu shot this Thursday (Oct. 1) to pre-K through 12th-grade students.
Every student receives a form for parents to fill out. If the student is participating in blended or virtual learning and would like to get the flu vaccine, they will need to go to their assigned school.
Springdale nurse coordinator Kathy Launder said, “this is a great opportunity to get it done. Parents don’t have to take time off from work, they don’t have to take their child in themselves.”
Fort Smith Public Schools is also offering on-site flu shots to juniors and high school students starting Oct. 19. Elementary students can get their shots at the Sebastian County Health Department.
“We like for people to get the flu shots at least two weeks before we anticipate the season. The CDC recommends getting your flu shot by the end of October so this is the perfect time to start thinking about getting your flu shot," Dr. Johnson said.
Dr. Johnson says because the symptoms of both COVID-19 and the flu are similar, it’s going to be difficult for doctors to diagnose without getting a test, which could lead to increasing demand for testing.
“Both usually have respiratory symptoms with fever body aches," Dr. Johnson said. "It’s going to be near impossible to discern without testing which of the two you might have. We don’t have a vaccine for COVID, we do have a vaccine for the flu so it’s important to try and take advantage of that as a protection against that illness.”
Several other school districts are offering flu shots including Fayetteville, Van Buren and Farmington.
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