Looming Flu Season Raises The ‘possibility Of Two Concurrent Epidemics’

With the coronavirus already circulating in Maine, health care providers across the state are urging residents to get flu shots as soon as possible so that they can be protected when the influenza season arrives in the next few weeks, creating what the state’s top public health official called “the possibility of two concurrent epidemics.” If a large number of people develop respiratory illnesses this fall and winter, it would tie up many of the medical resources that hospitals and clinics need to handle an expected uptick of COVID-19 as students return to school and people spend more time inside, according to those providers. And a flu outbreak would also create more risk that Mainers need to seek medical care, potentially exposing themselves to the coronavirus. “This is the single most important year that people can get the influenza vaccine,” said Dr.