Low vaccine rates worry experts ahead of flu, COVID season

S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show. Flu vaccinations are down and there's concern more people could get sick this season. We'll tell you how to stay healthy. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. So something's in the air. And I'm not talking about the holiday spirit. It just seems everyone is coughing and sneezing or recovering from something. And it may be because December marks the start of flu and Covid season. And this year , experts are worried about vaccine rates. Only about 1 in 5 San Diego residents have received their flu shots so far. Even fewer have been vaccinated for Covid 19. Joining me to talk about this is Doctor Pia Panorama , an infectious disease specialist at Rady Children's Hospital. She's also a professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego. Doctor , welcome to Midday Edition.

S2: Thank you for having me.

S1: So glad to have you here.

S2: We seem to be seeing a downtrend in folks getting their both Covid and flu vaccines over the years. It at the beginning you might remember people , everyone wanted the Covid vaccine. In fact , people were mad if they weren't on that priority list. And unfortunately , things have sort of changed over time. And so now we have to remind people , hey , it's time to go get those vaccines right before the respiratory season starts.

S1: Well , let's talk a bit more about these vaccines.

S2: So the vaccine itself doesn't contain the whole virus , but it contains parts of it just to teach our body how to respond. So that way when we actually see flu or see Covid , um , you know , whether we get it from our neighbor or friend , um , our bodies actually know what to do , how to fight it off.

S1: Well , and it's not too late to get vaccinated if you haven't already. Is that right ? Yeah.

S2: That's right. This is actually a good time to get vaccinated. We like to we like to remind people to get it before Halloween. Obviously that's past , but flu isn't quite here yet , at least not here in California. We know that it's trending this way. It's caused huge outbreaks in Japan , in the UK and then in Canada. So it's just a matter of time. We're starting to see rates pick up on the East Coast , and it's going to make its way west probably in the next couple of weeks.

S1: So it'll make its way west in the next couple of weeks. Do you have a sense of of how the rates are in San Diego right now , at this moment ? Obviously not that high since it's still making its way over here.

S2: They're definitely on the upswing on the east eastern part of the United States. And then it takes usually about 2 to 3 weeks before it arrives in San Diego. So the vaccine it takes the vaccine takes about two weeks for somebody to make the immunity. You know , to learn from the vaccine that's being given on how to fight off the flu. So if people go get the vaccine right now , they still have time before flu hits San Diego. Hmm.

S1: Hmm. Well , given what's happening in other parts of the world , what are the most common strains right now and what makes them unique. Yeah.

S2: Yeah. So for flu there is this strain. We call it H3n2 subclade K which just sounds like a long name. Um , but this this strain , it's mutated a little bit from strains that we've seen in past seasons. And , and , and even from the flu vaccine , um , this strain has been circulating in those other countries that I mentioned earlier , and even about 80% of the flu strains that we're seeing here in the U.S. belong to this subclade , K. Um , so what that means is that we might not have the the immunity to it already , uh , without vaccination. So the vaccine , although it's not perfect , it will still give some protection against this virus.

S1: You know , last year was one of the deadliest flu seasons for children in San Diego. Should we brace for similar trends this year ? Yeah.

S2: That's correct. Um , last year was a tough year for San Diego. We had seven deaths here , and a lot of those , many of those were actually otherwise healthy teenagers , which is , you know , just so sad to imagine that these children were just the week before doing , going to school , playing with their friends , um , hanging out at the mall , doing what teens do. And then , you know , just a week later to succumb to the flu. It's just so sad. And unfortunately , most of the deaths that occurred in San Diego County , both in children and in adults , were in unvaccinated , unvaccinated folks. So we're worried this year as well , just coming off of a severe season that we might see another severe season. And with vaccination rates down in the community , it's going to be much easier for the flu to spread from person to person. Hmm.

S1: Hmm.

S2: So yeah. So flu starts with cough fever you know runny nose shakiness and and some of that can be managed at home if the child has child or adult has any kind of underlying disease. And they should see their physician because there is a treatment that has some benefit if it's started early in the course of symptoms. But then if if the fevers persist , the child doesn't want to eat or drink. That is definitely the time to go see the doctor. The other thing that could happen is that the flu itself might , they might. The child might be recovering from the flu , but they have other complications where we see pneumonia set in or or. something having to do with the heart. Sometimes this happens , can happen early on with the symptoms. Or it could be that they start to get better and then all of a sudden get sick , started to get sicker again , where the fevers come back and they have difficulty breathing. So that's another time that they should definitely go see the doctor. Hmm.

S1: Hmm. I want to bring , you know , talk about Covid two. The latest variant is the xfce variant.

S2: Um , there was a time where all of us remembered the names of all the variants , you know , um , back during the Omicron days , these are all variants of the Omicron virus. Um , we do have each year the vaccine , actually , for both Covid and flu are updated to be the closest to what's circulating. So the , the , um , all of the Covid vaccines that are available now are , are. Have been updated for this particular season and is similar , although not exact. It's similar to the variant that's circulating.

S1: You know , a lot of this Covid data is coming from wastewater levels. How accurate are those readings ? Just generally speaking.

S2: Yeah , they're pretty accurate. Um , the wastewater picks up , uh , Covid , flu , actually many other diseases as well , um , that are circulating in the community , uh , right now in San Diego , our wastewater levels are low , which is good , but and Covid usually has a summer peak and then a winter peak. So we had our summer peak numbers went down after that. And we're in that that nice period where we can relax just a little bit , but it's expected that it will go up again during the winter. Hmm.

S1: Hmm. Something else I think about is , you know , there's been a lot of concern about data and transparency coming from the CDC.

S2: Um , the the updates are coming a little bit slower. Maybe , you know , a week or two weeks behind it seems. So it makes it a little bit harder to , to track. Um , using the wastewater scan also helps. So , you know , we are bracing ourselves for what could definitely be a very severe season. Uh , we're ready in the hospitals to take care of the patients that come in. But the best thing that people can do for themselves , really , is to go get vaccinated. As I said before , it might not protect people from actually getting the flu or Covid , but it definitely helps to protect against hospitalizations and all of those severe complications.

S1:

S2: I think delay in knowledge or delay in knowing that vaccine is circulating. Sometimes just knowing that the sorry , not the vaccine , but the flu or COVID's just knowing that flu or Covid is circulating is an extra reminder for people to go get their vaccine. It's an extra reminder for health care providers to , to , um , you know , get it out there that , hey , don't forget , it's time to go get vaccinated. People get a little bit complacent if they don't see the numbers. Um , and , and so that's where the concern is. The vaccine , um , strains themselves have already been chosen for this season. The vaccines have already been made. They're ready to be given. Hmm.

S1: Hmm.

S2: Um , locally , the , uh , our health department still collects this data , so they have knowledge from various clinics and hospitals , uh , urgent cares that on positivity rates for both flu and Covid. So that data is still available. Um , CDC data is based on a collection of local public health data from various jurisdictions throughout the United States. And , um , so the data is out there , although it's a little bit delayed. The data is is still coming.

S1: Well , you know , we've got about a minute left here. But beyond getting vaccinated , what are some other tips for staying healthy this winter. Sure.

S2: Sure. Yeah. Well , you know , it's to try to avoid being around other people who are sick. It's a really hard thing to do , especially as the holiday seasons come up. Um , you know , you want to be around friends and family. You want to go out shopping. Um , you , you know , kids are still in school right now. And so that's obviously a main area , a main place where flu is flu and Covid are spreading. So , you know , trying to avoid crowds as much as possible. But saying that being said , the easier thing to do is just to go get your vaccine and then you can enjoy all of the holiday , you know , all of what the holiday season has to offer.

S1: Simple advice. I've been speaking with Doctor Pia Panerai , an infectious disease specialist at Rady Children's Hospital. She's also a professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego. Doctor , thank you so much.

S2: Thank you very much.