Second Wave in the Coronavirus War

Dear Fellow Survivalist;

With summer now officially over, we’re on the brink of flu season. While flu season won’t peak until December, we can expect for flu cases to begin picking up as the weather cools. How bad the flu season will be this year is anyone’s guess, but it probably will be a bad one.

Medical experts have been dreading this time since the spring. There was a general expectation that COVID-19 would die down during the summer and reappear this fall, just like the flu does. But that’s not what happened. The number of new COVID cases this summer was higher than in the spring; and while the survival rate was higher, 4.8 percent of the US COVID-19 cases which have been resolved, ended in the patient’s death.

The problem facing our medical community now is the potential interaction in the flu and COVID. Every potential flu patient is going to have to be tested for both the flue and COVID. Is it possible for the same patient to have both? If so, what will that mean? Will that increase the death rate for those who end up infected with both diseases?

These questions can’t be answered at this time, simply because our medical community is still studying this new disease. We’re all just going to have to wait and see how this fall plays out and whether we really do have another wave of COVID-19 cases or not. At least with the flu the incubation period is short and there has never been a risk of people with asymptomatic cases walking around, infecting others. However, anyone can spread the disease for at least a day before symptoms appear.

In the mean time, there are things that you and I should do, to prepare ourselves for the potential of an increase in COVID-19 cases and to make it through the flu season in general:

Get a Flu Shot

If you’re the kind to get a flu shot, then this is definitely the year to do so. I realize some people don’t normally do this, but you might want to rethink it this time around. With the risk of COVID interacting with the flu in some unknown way, that’s not a chance any of us want to take.

At a minimum, the flu could serve as a comorbidity for COVID, weakening the individual’s immune system. In addition, the flu and COVID-19 are both respiratory diseases, so the symptoms of both diseases will be heightened in the individual. Whereas serious cases have had to be put on ventilators in the past, those ventilators may not be able to keep up with the battle in the case of both diseases attacking the same patient.

Stockpile More PPE

Now’s the time to be stocking up on all the things you’ve been using to get thorough the pandemic. Specifically I’m talking about PPE, masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, but you might want to extend that outwards from there. I’ve already stocked up on bleach, dishwashing liquid and blue paper towels, so that I can keep plenty of homemade disinfecting wipes on hand.

We’ve been through six months of this already and we can count on at least another six months before flu season is really over. So I’d say that however much PPE and disinfectants you’ve used so far this year, is about how much you need to have for next year.

Keep Everything Clean

I’m not sure of the numbers on it, but the flu seems to spread easier than COVID does. Perhaps that’s just because we have never taken the same precautions in the past, which we have for this pandemic. Nevertheless, it only makes sense to take extra precautions in keeping things clean, as well as disinfecting everything you bring into your home. It may seem a bit ridiculous disinfecting your groceries when you bring them home from the store, but we can’t see viruses, so we just don’t know.

Don’t Let Up On Your Safety Routine

Most of us have gotten used to taking certain safety precautions, most notably wearing masks and using hand sanitizer whenever we come into contact with others. It’s become routine, while we’ve also gotten tired of it. But now is not the time to let up on that routine, with the flu season about to start. We don’t know what’s going to happen, and I, for one, don’t want to become the lab rat in this experiment.

Keeping our selves safe requires constant vigilance. Anyone who works in a dangerous environment can tell you that. Well, we all work in a dangerous environment now, so we all need to keep ourselves vigilant. Yes, you might get away with making a mistake, but each time you do that, you’re playing Russian roulette. How many times do you think you can win at that game?

Of course, there are those fortunate ones who get infected by COVID-19 and never have any symptoms or if they do, it’s no more trouble than a minor cold. I get that. I also get that the mortality rate is higher for the elderly, than it is for younger people. But don’t think that makes you safe, if you’re young. Then there’s always the risk of you passing it on to someone you love.

As much as I hate it, we all need to play it safe. So I’m going to keep wearing my mask and washing my hands. It’s worked for me this far and I hope it will continue to do so.

In the mean time, I’ll also keep my powder dry (especially with the ammo shortage) and my survival gear close to hand.

Dr. Rich