SAN ANTONIO – With the flu, COVID and other viruses circulating during the fall season, medical staff with Baptist Health System are already taking precautions.
KSAT caught up with Jovie Axman as she was getting her annual flu shot.
At the front line of the fight, she said she knows her hands will be full of unlucky people who end up in the hospital due to the flu, COVID or another virus.
“I work at the hospital and it’s very contagious,” she said.
Chief of Infection Control for the Baptist Health System, Dr. Duane Hospenthal, said colder weather brings indoor gatherings and opens the door for respiratory viruses to get passed around.
“There seems to be a little bit more of the severe COVID as well as a little bit of flu going around. But we are expecting a flu season and worsening COVID season over the next several months,” he said.
Hospenthal said COVID symptoms have become similar to the flu, with chills, fever and body aches.
He urges anyone who’s at high risk with lung issues or asthma to get the flu and COVID vaccines.
“In general, it takes several weeks to boost your immune system. But if you’ve had multiple vaccines, you boost faster because you’re just waking up the plasma cells,” he said.
If you’re already sick, Hospenthal said to stay home, stay hydrated and drink chicken soup.