By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
As officials with Mosaic Life Care remind residents to get their flu shots with flu season here, they also are advising getting that COVID-19 vaccine booster.
Dr. Scott Folk, a specialist in Adult Infectious Diseases, says most areas have seen a drastic drop in COVID activity, the number of cases is trickling up again.
"The number of cases are starting to go up because different variants are starting to circulate,” Folk tells reporters. “When it gets cold outside people come inside and huddle together, they watch the Chiefs game togethers, gosh we just over Halloween and trick or treating, all those kinds of gatherings at school, gatherings at church.”
Folk says the downside of these activities that bring people together is it facilitates the spread of diseases like the coronavirus and flu.
Folk says one misconception people often have, is why bother getting the booster when they can still get COVID?
Folk says the vaccine shines is in its ability to reducing the severity of COVID if someone is exposed to the virus.
"I like to call it keeping COVID small and not letting it turn into a big raging fire, that’s where the vaccines really help, they help to reduce widespread, severe COVID infection that can otherwise land people in the hospital, land people in the ICU, force them to be on a ventilator, and even dying from COVID,” Folk explains.
Folk says it’s important to make sure you are up to date with the latest booster that came out just a month ago.
"That is the one that will be effective against the currently circulating variants in the US, keep an ear to the ground to know what's going on as the fall and winter progress as far as other variants,” Folk says.
Folk says you can receive your flu shot and COVID booster at the same time, one in each arm, but most people choose to get one at a time.