Flu Shots: Never More Important Get your flu shot—now, if you haven’t already.
That’s the advice from experts this year, who fear a “twindemic” of COVID-19 and influenza during the normal flu season. “It takes two to three weeks for the vaccine to build immunity in the body, and getting vaccinated early can help prevent transmission,” says Walt Orenstein, associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center and professor of infectious diseases at Emory’s School of Medicine. And the flu virus, like the novel coronavirus, can be wily. “Once exposed to influenza, an individual tends to get sick in a range of one to four days,” Orenstein says. “People are most contagious in the first three to four days of illness. But some people can transmit the virus before they even get sick and can also transmit from five to seven days after becoming sick.” The flu virus can mutate, Orenstein says. There are about four major strains of influenza viruses in most vaccines. In the overall population, the CDC says studies show a vaccine can reduce the
risk of flu by about 50% to 60% when the vaccine is well matched. Experts estimate the vaccine for the 2019–20 influenza season was about 38% effective. “We’d like a more effective vaccine,” Orenstein says, “but the [current vaccines] are still a lot better than zero percent, which is the effectiveness of no vaccination.” Pregnant women are encouraged to get a flu shot to protect their newborns, since only babies 6 months of age and older can be vaccinated; the mother’s vaccination provides passive immunity to the newborn. With the threat of COVID-19 as well as other illnesses that could lead to pneumonia, it’s even more important to get a flu shot this year. Having influenza and COVID-19 at the same time could be catastrophic for an individual, and having simultaneous or overlapping epidemics of influenza and COVID-19 would put tremendous stress on the health care delivery system.—Dr. Walter Orenstein, speaking to WABE-FM, Sept. 16, 2020.
CDC estimates* that, from October 1, 2019, through April 4, 2020, there have been:
39 million to
56 million flu illnesses
18 million to
26 million
flu medical visits
410,000 to
740,000
flu hospitalizations
24,000 to
62,000
flu deaths *These estimates are calculated based on CDC’s weekly influenza surveillance data.
A New Hope: The Addiction Alliance of Georgia
With needs growing amid the pandemic, Emory Healthcare and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation are partnering with collaborators throughout Georgia in a long-term venture to reduce addiction, improve recovery, and save lives.
More than 20 million Americans needed substance-use treatment in 2019, but only about one in 10 received the specialty care they needed. Addiction to alcohol, opioids, and other drugs is a leading cause of disease, disability, and premature death, with drug overdoses alone taking a record 72,000 lives in the US in 2019. The Addiction Alliance of Georgia will focus initially on outreach, education, and reducing stigma by providing a better understanding of addiction as a chronic, treatable disease. In 2021, it plans
to offer clinical services in Atlanta. Currently, “in response to the pandemic and the dramatically increased demand, Emory and Hazelden Betty Ford have both used telehealth effectively and extensively to help people with substance-use disorders,” said Mark Hyman Rapaport, chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory School of Medicine and chief of Psychiatric Services at Emory Healthcare. Information on existing services can be found at AddictionAllianceOfGeorgia.org.—Jennifer Johnson
Fall 2020
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