Healthy Living: Doctors say flu vaccines are more important now than ever

The potential for people to be impacted by both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza is expected to put a strain on hospital capacity.

SEATTLE - This time of year, parents are usually getting ready to send their kids off to school, and with that many opt for vaccines like the flu shot.

Dr. Jim Polo, the Behavioral Health Medical Director with Regence BlueShield says, "The best prevention against the flu is receiving an annual flu vaccination. remember that the flu virus tends to mutate year to year so annual vaccination is what helps protect you to ensure that you don’t become ill.”

Dr. Polo says getting the flu vaccine this fall is more important than ever. The potential for people to be impacted by both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza is expected to put a strain on hospital capacity.

Some things to be mindful of amid this pandemic, “Remember that symptoms of flu can be similar to those of COVID, fever, cough, muscle aches or fatigue are common. Usually, that fever tends to be higher than it is for COVID.”

While babies haven’t been shown to have high rates of contracting Coronavirus, Dr. Polo says vaccines are incredibly important for infants and children who can be exposed to diseases from the moment they are born.

Dr Polo says children are more at risk for infection because they haven’t previously been exposed. so vaccination allows for the ability of their immune system to develop antibodies so that if infected with a virus or bacteria they will be able to fight it off and prevent infection.

For parents who are worried about vaccinating their child, dr. polo says both the CDC and FDA take many steps to make sure vaccines are safe, “One myth that parents sometimes believe is that vaccination can cause autism. This is not true. Although a study was published in the 1990s indicating that vaccination could cause autism, that study was completely debunked. In fact, the author of that study lost his medical license.”

It is important to remember that most health plans cover 100% of the cost of vaccines, including for the flu, measles, pneumonia and childhood immunizations. There is not currently a vaccine for COVID-19