Get a flu shot and the COVID vaccine to help Texas avoid a twindemic

Flu season could come back this winter. Health officials are asking people to protect themselves with the COVID vaccine and a flu shot.

AUSTIN, Texas - COVID-19 numbers are down compared to last month which was deemed one of the most brutal for the pandemic. However, state doctors are now concerned about a possible twindemic now that it is flu season.

"Last month was fairly brutal when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. In many instances, one of the worst months we've had through this. This month, compared to last month, things are better, but there's a lot of caveats to that story," said Mark Casanova, MD Texas Medical Association COVID-19 Task Force.

There were 221,000 confirmed active cases of COVID-19 in Texas as of October 4th. One day later, that number was down by 7,000. COVID numbers are starting to trend down along with hospital admissions.

"The numbers can sometimes be deceiving. Numbers are trending down yet we still have very tight ICU capacity," said Dr. Casanova.

Dr. Casanova says people should not be taking a sigh of relief from these dwindling numbers just yet. Many areas are still struggling for ICU beds. Just last month, Austin had zero beds at one point, and now the area is now up to 47.

"While our numbers are trending down and our new admissions into the hospital are declining, both of which are positive, we are seeing many patients who are sick enough with COVID that are really staying, or for lack of a better term, stuck in our ICUS for weeks, and in some instances, months, and regrettably at the end of some of those long journeys, individuals don't make it. They do succumb to COVID-19 so I think that's where we're not out of the death zone yet. We're still very much in the midst of it," he said.

Dr. Casanova says people should continue their safety measures because the delta variant is the deadliest and strongest variant so far.

With the flu season in full swing, state doctors are worried about the possible concern of a twindemic of both COVID and the flu.

Last year, the flu season was at an all-time low, but it does not look like that will happen again unless people continue to take safety initiatives. "I think the way we continue to press the numbers down and force them down is with a very safe and effective approach and that is with vaccination," said Dr. Casanova.

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