MEMPHIS, Tenn. — While many are getting ready to see family and friends on Thanksgiving, some doctors are worried about what could happen in the weeks after the holiday gatherings. WREG talked with medical experts who say COVID-19 isn’t their only concern.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Manoj Jain says vaccinations will help anyone who gets COVID-19 to hopefully have milder symptoms, but for those unvaccinated he recommends a layered approach to staying safe.
“I am worried that a few weeks from now we will see an increase in number of cases but I’m hopeful that we won’t see an increase in the number of hospitalizations,” Dr. Jain said.
It’s recommended to get tested before getting together to make sure people are negative –a rapid test is available at pharmacies–as well as social distance.
But in the coming weeks, Dr. Steve Threlkeld has this warning.
“Here’s one more thing to think about: we may, I hope not, but we may be seeing that unfortunate double jeopardy with influenza and COVID that we’ve been worrying about but haven’t had to experience,” he said.
Citing several college campuses around the country with flu outbreaks, he encourages parents to get their children the flu vaccine, as well as get it for themselves.
The infectious disease doctor said while we haven’t seen an outbreak in the Mid-South yet, it wouldn’t be a surprise because we’ve become more causal interacting with people.
“But it would take something like the Thanksgiving holidays to shake up the snow globe and have that happen shortly thereafter. And that’s when you really start getting into a problem. If we see an up-tick in COVID and we see the onslaught of a pretty aggressive flu season to make up for the last two that were nothing, essentially, you know, that’s when you could see the medical systems being stressed again,” Dr. Threlkeld said.
