"
The fall 2020 season is going to be particularly tough for families and their children. The current COVID-19 pandemic in conjunction with seasonal illnesses and the annual influenza spike during autumn. Under normal circumstances, patients can get a flu shot on the same day as their urgent care visit.
Patients near Edgewater,MD and surrounding neighborhoods are likely to be susceptible to both the flu and COVID-19 this year as more and more cases continue to rise. The combination of flu and COVID patients needing care will spike by a significant amount this autumn season.
If you’re looking to get a flu shot, seasonal illness treatment, or COVID-19 testing, then make sure you visit AFC Urgent Care Edgewater for your needs. Contact us today or book an appointment by calling. Below, we’ll dive into the other key needs for patients this year in terms of flu season, preventive care, and personal safety:
Flu shots are the best way to prevent the flu this year
A flu shot can have anywhere from a 40 to 50% success rate of immediately vaccinating patients, even when flu viruses are more infectious than in prior years. Most flu cases lead to troubling symptoms without a shot, and even getting the shot early helps expose your immune system to a gradual viral load. Limited exposure to the virus will help your antibodies react and develop longer-term immunity.
Ultimately, when more people have the flu shot it increases the chance that local communities can develop herd immunity during the flu season. The flu virus adapts and changes each year in order
Check and self-assess your seasonal illness symptoms
COVID-19 symptoms and flu symptoms are both similar to standard cold, allergy, and asthma symptoms. This can make patients either overreact to their symptoms or ignore a potential illness. If you have any of the following symptoms then make sure you follow up at an urgent care center to see if in-person treatment is right for you:
- Fever
- Nausea
- Congestion
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Sore Throat
- Headache
The severity of symptoms can also indicate if you have a mild or moderate seasonal illness. Cold symptoms are mild for a week, flu symptoms are a little more moderate for upwards of a week, and COVID-19 symptoms can potentially last for a few weeks. Also evaluate your recent travel risks, which are correlated to recent cases of COVID-19: did you go to a hotspot, contact someone with a known infection, or participate in a large gathering recently?
"
