Condell Doctor: Get Flu Shot To Help Minimize Hospital Surge

We are all weary from the current COVID-19 pandemic and the endless array of burdensome yet essential measures being taken to decrease transmission and to promote health and safety. While we await with hope the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, there is an existing vaccine that will play an essential role in stemming this winter’s burden on our medical system – seasonal influenza vaccine – commonly known as the “flu shot.” This becomes especially important as many area school districts continue to work toward increased in-person instruction.

As Chairman of Surgery at Advocate Condell Medical Center, I’m joining with my primary colleagues in recommending flu vaccine to my patients and to the general public. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that flu has caused between 140,000-810,000 hospitalizations and 12,000-61,000 deaths annually since 2010. Despite the danger of flu, it is estimated that only 45 percent of American adults get a flu shot. This number is lower among African Americans and the Hispanic population – two populations at particularly high risk for contracting COVID-19. Misinformation is abundant, and I commonly hear patients say that they don’t want to “get sick” from the flu shot or that they have had the shot in the past and have “still been sick” with the flu.

The vaccine is enormously successful and safe. CDC tracks the influenza virus and renders a new formulation each year. Healthcare workers, like me, are required to have the vaccine in early fall to stem community spread. I think of my flu shot like a safety belt – you can still get into an accident, but the safety belt decreases risk of an adverse outcome.

Without proper flu vaccine compliance, the medical system could easily be overwhelmed by a collision later this fall of influenza cases and an uptick in COVID-19 cases due to cold weather and more time spent indoors in close proximity to others. This effects not only access to needed care but availability of needed beds for surgical patients and the ability to continue important preventive care and elective surgeries.

A flu shot is a low-cost and effective measure toward safely returning students to in- person instruction and to preventing what could be a serious blow to our ability to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. To schedule your flu shot appointment at one of our Advocate Aurora Walgreens clinics or drive-thru locations, use the Advocate LiveWell app or go to the MyAdvocate Aurora website for more information on when, where and how to receive your vaccine.

Stay well!

Gregory Caronis, M.D., MBA is a board-certified Lake County orthopedic surgeon with Advocate Medical Group Orthopedics and Chief of Surgery at Advocate Condell Medical Center. A specialist in disorders of the foot and ankle and fracture care, he also practices general orthopedics and sees patients in Libertyville and Gurnee. For orthopedic questions or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Caronis, call AMG Orthopedics at (847) 634-1766.