CLEVELAND — Just as the beautiful fall weather shows its face so does the flu. This year, experts are hoping it will be a milder flu season like the last two but say people should still be vigilant.
Dr. Ardeshir Hashmi, who is the chief of Cleveland Clinic's Center for Geriatric Medicine, says though the past two years have been of the milder flu seasons.
“The theory behind that is that a lot of the measures we were taking for COVID; masks, hand washing, hygiene measures, really helped mitigate people getting the influenza,” said Hashmi.
They hope for the same this year but know increases in infections are realistic especially with more gathering happening.
“I think is going to be a cyclical thing I think is going to be that way for some time, where we will get these episodic spikes and try to stay ahead of it, Hashmi said.
Last year’s flu season lasted longer than usual, and Dr Hashmi says that’s also possible this year.
The good news is when it comes to vaccinations for the flu, they have seen a robust turnout, hoping everyone is getting especially those in the venerable population.
“Yeah, I think two populations are very vulnerable. One of the populations that I see a lot of people above the age of 65. Then the other population again, because of decreased immune systems of any age,” said Dr. Hashmi.
The Cleveland Clinic is offering appointment-only vaccines at all their locations across Northeast Ohio.
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