This Event Focuses on the Flu Vaccine as the COVID-19 Pandemic Continues
Public health experts say the COVID-19 pandemic makes getting a flu shot more important than ever, and now is the time to do it, before we get any deeper into flu season. L.A. Care Health Plan is hosting Live events today on all of its social media platforms to explain why that is, and to help ease the concerns of anyone who might be hesitant to get either the flu or COVID-19 vaccine. The events will be in English and Spanish.
Dr. Erika Flores Uribe, the Director of Language, Access and Inclusion at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and an Associate Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at the LAC+USC Medical Center, will help L.A. Care spread facts and dispel myths.
Last year, much more stringent COVID-19 restrictions, such as business shutdowns, strict social distancing and masking guidelines, helped prevent a severe flu season. But this year, schools and businesses are open, and as the weather gets colder, people will be spending more time indoors where the flu can easily spread. The COVID-19 pandemic has already put stress on hospital systems and health care workers. A severe flu season would exacerbate that problem.
What’s worse is people can get the flu and COVID-19 at the same, and a recent study showed that these people were at even greater risk of serious illness. This shows the importance of getting both a flu and COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Flores Uribe will talk about who should get the flu shot and give details about how the flu can impact people who have had COVID-19.
The L.A. Care Live events can be found today, October 20, on four L.A. Care social media platforms:
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube
The English event is on each social media platform at 1:00 pm.
The Spanish event is on each social media platform at 2:00 pm.
These events align with L.A. Care’s commitment to advancing health equity. L.A. Care believes that everyone should have a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.