IN RELATION TO THAT CRASH. SAFE TRAVELS. THAT’S A LOOK AT YOU. KEEP YOUR SON TOYOTA TIME
SAVER TRAFFIC.
>>BRUCE HAMILTON: FLU
HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE THE
HIGHEST THEY HAVE BEEN IN 10
YEARS. 5 OUT OF EVERY 100,000
PEOPLE IN THE U.S. WERE
HOSPITALIZED FOR THE FLU IN
THE U.S. THIS YEAR. MORE THAN
2000 IN THE SOUTHEAST. U.S. AN
AREA THAT INCLUDES FLORIDA. IT
IS THIS AREA THAT’S BEING
HARDEST HIT RIGHT NOW. THE
INFLUENZA, A STRAIN APPEARS TO
BE THE MOST COMMON HERE.
THERE’S A AND B JOINING ME ON
THE MORNING SHOW DOCTOR SUNIL,
JOSHI PRESIDENT OF THE DUVAL
COUNTY MEDICAL FOUNDATION.
GOOD MORNING MORNING. THIS
STRAIN IS HITTING EXTREMELY
>> EARLY THIS YEAR. YEAH. WHAT
DO YOU MAKE OF THAT? YEAH, I
MEAN, AND YOU KNOW, IT’S IT’S
NOT UNUSUAL FOR US TO SEE A
SPIKE OF THE FLU, BUT WAS
UNUSUAL THAT WE’RE SEEING IT
SO EARLY AND WE’RE SEEING SUCH
A LARGE SPIKE IN SO A LOT OF
THIS IS VERY LIKELY DUE TO THE
FACT THAT OVER THE LAST COUPLE
YEARS NOW WITH THE PANDEMIC,
WE’VE BEEN TAKING A LOT OF
PRECAUTIONS TO MITIGATE THE
SPREAD OF VIRUSES. WELL, WE
KIND OF STOPPED DOING THAT
NOW. AND SO THE FLU IS
STARTING TO AFFECT PEOPLE AT
HIGHER LEVELS THAN THEY WERE
LAST FEW YEARS. AND THERE’S A
LARGE COVID PEOPLE HAVE NEVER
EVEN BEEN EXPOSED TO THE FLU,
ESPECIALLY OUR CHILDREN. MANY
OF WHOM ARE MAY NOT EVEN BE
VACCINATED. AND SO THE FLU
SEEMS TO BE SPREADING RAPIDLY
MORE QUICKLY AND EARLIER THAN
TYPICAL IN THIS IS THE SAME
THING THEY’RE SEEING. AND AND
THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE THE
SUMMER. SO WE’RE STARTING
MIMIC THAT HERE IN THE UNITED
STATES. SO THE THAT WE’RE
TALKING ABOUT A PARTICULAR
STRICT, ITS ASSOCIATED, MORE
SEVERE ILLNESS IN YOUNG
CHILDREN AND THE ELDERLY.
>> THE NUMBERS ARE PRETTY
FRIGHTENING. NEARLY 11 OUT OF
EVERY 100,000 SENIORS WERE
HOSPITALIZED WITH THE FLU
DURING THE WEEK, ENDING
NOVEMBER 5TH. WELL, ABOUT 10
OUT OF EVERY 100,000 KIDS
YOUNGER THAN AGE 5 ARE
ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL AND
1300 PEOPLE DIED FROM THE
VIRUS. ACCORDING TO THE CDC
THIS EARLY IN THE SEASON. YOU
CAN’T IGNORE THAT REALITY. NO,
ABSOLUTELY NOT. AND I THINK
THAT THE KEY THING HERE IS
THAT THE STRAIN THAT WE’RE
SEEING THE MOST HERE IN THE
UNITED STATES, AT LEAST HERE
IN FLORIDA SO FAR, THE AGE 3,
2, WHICH IS PART OF INFLUENZA,
A DOES TEND TO AFFECT OUR MOST
VULNERABLE POPULATION, WHICH
ARE OUR SENIORS AND OUR YOUNG
CHILDREN. AND THOSE ARE THE
ONES THAT ARE NOW BEING
HOSPITALIZED AT THIS FLU VIRUS
IS DEFINITELY MORE VIRULENT
THAN WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IN THE
PAST. I DO THINK IT’S WORTH
NOTING, THOUGH, THAT BEFORE
THE PANDEMIC, THE LAST FULL
FLU SEASON THAT WE HAD BEFORE
THE PANDEMIC, WHICH IS 2018,
2019. WE DID HAVE 28,000
DEATHS FROM THE FLU. IT’S JUST
THAT OVER THE LAST 2 YEARS
BEEN SO FOCUSED ON COVID WE
FORGOTTEN ABOUT HAVE VERY
LYNN. THE FLU IS AND NOW WE’RE
STARTING TO SEE THAT AGAIN
SAID PLEASE, DON’T FORGET, THE
FLU IS SERIOUS. WE DO NEED TO
TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY. SO BEFORE
COVID, YOU KNOW, WE WERE
CONDITION TO GET CERTAIN
VACCINES, OUR KIDS HOW TO GET
VACCINES GO TO SCHOOL. AND
THEN THERE BECAME THIS
VACCINE. HESITANCY. AND A LOT
OF PEOPLE NOW AREN’T GETTING
THE FLU SHOT. DO YOU FIND OUT
THAT THAT HESITANCY IS
CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE
IT MAY CREATE A SITUATION
WHERE FLU IS GOING TO BE MORE
RAMPANT. WELL, AND THERE IS
DEFINITELY A VACCINE.
HESITANCY HAPPENING NOW OUT
THERE. AND SO, YOU KNOW, AND
IT’S AN INTERESTING POINT,
TOO, BECAUSE IN TWENTY-TWENTY,
OKAY, WHEN THEY WERE COVID
PANDEMIC FIRST STARTED AND WE
WERE WAITING FOR THE COVID
VACCINES TO COME OUT. THERE IS
SOME INTEREST IN GETTING
VACCINES AND IN FACT,
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND IN
PARTICULAR HERE IN DUVAL
COUNTY, OUR FLU VACCINATION
RATES WENT UP IN 2020, BUT
THEY WENT DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY
LAST YEAR AND A LOT OF THAT IS
BECAUSE OF THE MISINFORMATION
THAT WAS PUT OUT THERE ABOUT
THE COVID VACCINE. PEOPLE
STARTED TO GET BECAUSE IT AND
TO GET ANY VACCINES AND IN
PARTICULAR IN THE PEDIATRIC
POPULATION WHERE TYPICALLY
CHILDREN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 6
MONTHS AND 5 YEARS OF AGE WILL
HAVE ABOUT A 75% FLU
VACCINATION RATE LAST YEAR.
THAT DROP TO AROUND 60%. AND
SO THIS IS ALSO THE POPULATION
IS MOST VULNERABLE TO BE
HOSPITALIZED FROM THE FLU,
WHICH IS WHAT WE’RE SEEING
RIGHT NOW. AND IT’S RELATIVELY
EFFECTIVE. IT’S RELATIVELY
SAFE. MINIMAL SIDE EFFECTS
THIS VACCINE. BRUCE HAS BEEN
AROUND SINCE 1945. HUNDREDS OF
MILLIONS OF AMERICANS HAVE
BEEN VACCINATED WITH THE FLU
SHY AND HAVE DONE
EXCEPTIONALLY WELL. WE DO KNOW
THAT IT CAN PREVENT ICU
ADMISSIONS FOR IN THE
PEDIATRIC POPULATION BY OVER
60% KEY PEOPLE AT THE HOSPITAL
AT ABOUT 50%. SO IT IS A VERY
EFFECTIVE AND VERY SAFE
VACCINE AND IT CAN KEEP PEOPLE
AT THE HOSPITAL. AND THAT’S
OUR BIGGEST CONCERN RIGHT NOW
SOME OF THE HOSPITALIZATIONS
ARE GOING UP FROM THE FLU.
IT’S COVERED BY INSURANCE. AND
IF YOU DON’T HAVE INSURANCE IS
A PROGRAM CALLED FLUVAXJAX AND
YOU CAN GET A VOUCHER TO HELP
COVER THE COST. THAT’S EXACTLY
RIGHT. AND SO FOR EVERYONE WHO
HAS PRIVATE INSURANCE OR EVEN
MEDICARE OR TRY CARE,
MEDICAID, THIS THE FLU VACCINE
IS FREE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE
INSURANCE, THE FLU VACCINE CAN
CAUSE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 30 AND
$50. A SHOT. IT CAN BE COST
PROHIBITIVE FOR PEOPLE TO GET
IT. BUT IF YOU GO TO FLU VAX
JAX DOT COM AND LOOK AT GET
THE SHOT. YOU CAN GET A FREE
FLU VACCINE VOUCHERS PUT IN
YOUR ZIP CODE AND WE WILL AND
SEND US AN E-MAIL AND WE’LL
RESPOND TO YOU WITH THE
VACCINE IN YOUR AREA THAT
PROVIDES WITH A FREE FLU
VACCINE. AND WE DID SOME
CHECKING YESTERDAY. I THINK
SOMETHING LIKE 745 PEOPLE HAVE
ALREADY GONE AND GOTTEN THE
VOUCHERS. SO YOU CAN ALSO GO
TO NEWS 4 JAX DOT COM. WE HAVE
AN ENTIRE SECTION THAT LINKS
YOU TO EVERYTHING WITH
FLUVAXJAX INCLUDING WHERE TO
GO AHEAD AND GET THAT
VOUCHERS. SO DOCTOR JOSHI,
THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
HOPEFULLY WE’VE OPENED SOME
EYES AND,
>>BRUCE HAMILTON: YOU KNOW,
WILL MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF
THE FLU HERE IN NORTHEAST SO