TAMPA, Fla. — As we watch the number of COVID cases increase, health experts are closely watching flu cases. The CDC has released its first report of the 2020-2021 season.
And that "Flu View" report shows flu activity is low right now.
Take a look at this map from the CDC. It shows activity across the country. It's mostly green, which is minimal cases of flu.
Dr. Jill Roberts with USF Health says the precautions we're taking for COVID-19 will help stop the spread of the flu, too.
She says we need to keep flu cases down since we are seeing a rise in COVID cases because the two use the same medical resources.
"Both can cause pneumonia. So we don't want two different diseases requiring the use of ventilation. And in addition to that, both are going to require laboratory resources, so we don't want to tax the lab with having to do additional testing to do on top of the COVID."
The other thing Dr. Roberts says is promising is that other countries that have flu season before us, and followed the guidelines for COVID, had mild flu seasons.
The CDC says don't wait until flu starts spreading to get vaccinated. Doctors say it takes two weeks to build immunity after you get one.
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