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Are your symptoms the onset of the flu? Possibly COVID? Dr. Shadaba Asad, the medical director of infectious diseases at University Medical Center, said if you feel like you have a viral infection, get tested. “Get tested for COVID, and if you’re concerned, you can also get tested for influenza because both of these infections are treatable by antivirals,” she suggested.
Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 | 2 a.m.
As cooler temperatures arrive in Las Vegas, a small sniffle or cough could spell trouble for residents. But is it COVID-19, or just the flu?
Another bad flu season combined with a winter COVID surge and increasing cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may make it difficult for residents in Southern Nevada to know, said Dr. Shadaba Asad, the medical director of infectious diseases at University Medical Center.
Asad said that it was still too early to know how bad this year’s flu season would be. With COVID numbers on the rise and RSV appearing more among children across the United States, it isn’t too early to start preparing for the inevitable first sniffle.
The Sun sat down with Asad to discuss the upcoming flu season, a possible COVID surge, and ways people can protect themselves. Here’s some of what was discussed.
As we approach flu season and COVID cases begin to rise in Clark County, what is UMC’s outlook on the upcoming months?
As of now, right at this point, we’ve definitely seen a slight increase in the number of patients with COVID, but it’s too early to start seeing an increase in the number of influenza (patients) for us. So, in Las Vegas (and) Nevada in general, flu season really starts in October and runs all the way through May, but our peak season tends to be December, January and February. We haven’t quite started seeing influenza cases yet.
Every single year during winter we see an increased number of various viral (and) respiratory infections, including influenza, RSV and — of course — for the last one or two years — COVID. (This is) primarily due to the fact that people tend to spend more time indoors in close quarters, so we do expect to see an increase in the number of these cases as we approach winter.
Since UMC has been seeing an increase in COVID cases coming in, have they been severe and is that something UMC is looking at to prepare for winter?
There are actually two measures when it comes to determining COVID activity in the community. One of them is referred to as “community transmission levels of COVID,” which basically refers to the presence and spread of COVID in our community. The other measure we look at very closely, particularly from a hospital perspective, is the term “community levels of COVID.” This really measures the impact in terms of the strain on the healthcare system (and) number of hospitalizations. So, they’re two different parameters to look at.
If you talk about community levels, this really depends on the number of COVID admissions to a hospital per 100,000 people and the percentage of staffed inpatient beds that are occupied with individuals who had a diagnosis of COVID. From a hospital perspective, the community level of COVID is what is really important.
As of now, we are not seeing a significant increase in the number of admissions to the hospital and we’re certainly not seeing a significant increase in the number of beds that are occupied by COVID patients. On the other hand, if we talk about community transmission of COVID, yes there is quite a bit of COVID infections circulating through the community at this point.
So (at the) community level in Clark County, we’re currently green. But when you look at community transmission, like pretty much the rest of the country, we are red.
Experts are expecting another spike in COVID cases this winter. Are we starting to see COVID become a more seasonal virus than it initially was?
I do think that COVID is here to stay. I think we’re going to be seeing this probably for many many years to come. Unlike influenza where most of the cases (in Las Vegas) are concentrated between October and May, I do think COVID tends to circulate a little bit more throughout the year. But like all viral infections, we’re definitely going to see a slight increase in the number of cases in winter.
I think as time will go on, we’re going to notice that because of increased herd immunity — which is the result of either getting a natural infection or getting vaccinated — although we will still see a large number of cases throughout the year, they will probably not be severe enough to require hospitalization and significantly affect the mortality related to the disease.
How concerned should residents be about catching the flu this year?
As time goes on — and I suspect it’s probably going to really hit us around November — we’re going to see a lot of different viral infections. The three that are most important that the general public needs to pay attention to and take measures to prevent are COVID-19, influenza, and RSV — particularly in the pediatric population. So we do need to be vigilant about all three of these as time is going on.
As one of the nation’s largest tourist destinations (even in the winter), are people in Las Vegas at a higher risk of contracting COVID or the flu?
COVID, influenza, (and) RSV are no longer infections that are going to come from outside the city so the fact that we have a lot of tourists coming from other parts of the country (and) other parts of the world is not really the concerning thing. The reason why we need to be more vigilant is because we’re a very busy city. In other words, the highest likelihood of contracting these viral infections is when you’re in close quarters indoors and there are other people around you. If you deal with this kind of setup in any country or any other busy city — like New York — if you’re attending a function where you are indoors and it’s crowded, you’re as likely to contract these infections over there.
How should residents prepare to protect themselves from the flu and COVID this season?
First and foremost, get vaccinated. This includes vaccination with the bivalent booster for COVID-19. Number two, make sure that you get your influenza vaccine. And for people who think that even with the vaccine you can still get the infection, yes you can, but it significantly impacts the severity of the disease and it reduces the chance of you ending up in the hospital and succumbing to the illness.
There are (also) certain preventive measures that actually work for any viral infection during the winter season. First, avoid close contact with people who are obviously sick. Number two: if you are sick, protect others from yourself — do not show up at work coughing, sneezing, (or) with a fever because you are going to spread the infection to the others. Number three: if you cough and sneeze, cover your cough and sneeze. Number four: keep your hands clean by frequently washing with soap and water. If that’s not easily available, any alcohol-based hand sanitizer is equally effective.
If you do have a viral infection, avoid touching your eyes. Do not rub your eyes at all, try to avoid doing that. And then if you have surfaces that are frequently touched — for example, you have a work desk — or there are people who sit there frequently, clean it at least once a day with something like a chlorine or a bleach-based cleaner. Just some regular stuff you can find in a market.
Last but not least, if you feel like you have a viral infection, get tested for it. Get tested for COVID, and if you’re concerned, you can also get tested for influenza because both of these infections are treatable by antivirals. These antivirals significantly reduce the duration of the illness, reduce the duration of viral shedding, and it also impacts the severity of the illness.
Because Las Vegas is such a busy city, is there any advice that you can offer our readers — especially if they work in some of these settings like a casino — to protect themselves?
I think apart from the measures (I) talked about, I honestly can’t keep stressing enough how important it is to be up-to-date with all of your vaccines — flu and COVID at this point.
The one other thing I do want to mention is that we need to completely eliminate any kind of stigma associated with wearing masks. You should not be looking for directions or mandates about wearing masks and not wearing masks.
If you are an individual who is at high risk of getting very sick if you were to contract influenza, RSV or COVID, you’re going to be way more sicker than the average person. In that case, go that extra step and wear the mask, most importantly when you are in indoor (and) crowded settings.
