Get the Facts, Not the Flu

If you’re like me, your kids are back at school, the leaves are starting to turn colors and its finally getting cool at night. Unlike me, you’re probably not yet thinking about cold and flu season, but there are some things you can do now to get ready. This is especially important if you or a loved one suffers from chronic heart or lung disease such as COPD, asthma, congestive heart failure (CHF), heart attacks, or diabetes. Risk of hospitalization, death and disability are very high, especially for adults over age 65 with these conditions.  

Respiratory infections, including pneumonia, influenza (flu), COVID 19, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) are leading causes of missed school and work, doctor visits, hospitalizations, and even death. While young people are more likely to miss school and work, very young (infants) and older Americans are more likely to suffer severe illness, hospitalization and death. I’ll focus her on Americans over age 65. 

While there is some debate about how aggressively we should encourage things like vaccinations, masks, and social distancing, particularly among those who are young and healthy, there is no debate in the medical community about the importance of these things for the elderly with chronic conditions. While young people carry most of the infections, and may be at risk of missing school and work, it’s our older friends and family, particularly those with chronic conditions, who are likely to get sick enough to be hospitalized or even die. Here are some facts to consider: 

• Respiratory infections like Flu, COVID 19, RSV, and pneumonia commonly lead to other complications like sepsis, heart attacks, heart failure, and arrhythmia. 

• COVID 19 is still about twice as deadly as influenza, which itself is one of the leading causes of death in older Americans. 

• We now have very effective vaccines for pneumonia, flu, RSV, and COVID 19 which are the main causes of respiratory infections in the US.

• We now have rapid tests for flu, COVID, and RSV and can test for pneumonia in any medical office. 

• We have specific antiviral medications that prevent severe illness for both Flu and COVID 19. Older patients and patients with chronic heart and lung conditions should test for and treat Flue and COVID 19. 

• Masks, hand washing, and social distancing (stay home when you’re sick) are effective at preventive the spread of respiratory illnesses. Mandates for these things have not been definitively proven effective, but they are proven to protect us individually. 

• Man Flu is REAL (sort of): Men are generally more likely to die from influenza (and COVID 19) due to weaker immune systems, and men are less likely to take precautions that prevent infection. Though women may actually have more symptoms due to stronger immune systems. 

So, what can you do now to protect yourself and loved ones? If you or your loved one is at high risk, get vaccinated. COVID 19 and Flu vaccines are available for just about everyone. Pneumonia vaccines are available for those under 5 and over 65 and those with chronic heart or lung disease, diabetes, and other conditions. RSV vaccine is for infants and pregnant mothers, adults over 75, and those over 60 with chronic heart or lung disease, diabetes, or weakened immune system. If you or your loved one has COPD, asthma, heart failure, or diabetes then all of these vaccines are very important. 

Additional Facts About common respiratory infections

Pneumonia

The leading cause of pneumonia remains bacterial pneumococcal pneumonia. Estimates of pneumonia are as high as 1 million older adults hospitalized with pneumonia per year causing 100,000 deaths during hospitalization, and leading to over 300,000 deaths (1 of 3) within a year of admission. 

RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is increasingly recognized as an important cause of severe respiratory disease in older adults. In the United States, an estimated 60,000–160,000 RSV-associated hospitalizations and 6,000–10,000 RSV-associated deaths occur each year among adults aged ≥65 years.

Influenza

Each year in the United States, seasonal influenza, or flu, kills more than 36,000 people and hospitalizes 200,000 more. The flu sweeps through communities, creating an epidemic. Seasonal flu outbreaks are an unfortunate mainstay of the late fall and winter. Each year, up to 1 in 5 Americans are laid low by the flu. 

COVID 19

The number of deaths from COVID-19 in 2023 was 76,446 (68.9% lower than the 245,614 deaths in 2022).