Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

Milwaukee NNSnewsMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University


Language: English English Spanish Spanish

You are here: Home / Home / Carousel / ‘More important than ever’: Health care workers urge flu shots as winter months approach

‘More important than ever’: Health care workers urge flu shots as winter months approach

September 8, 2021 by Matt Martinez Leave a Comment

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Some leaders are afraid of “mask fatigue” and recommend you get a flu shot-and if you haven’t already, the COVID vaccine-to stay healthy as winter approaches. (File photo by Sue Vliet)

Health care workers are preparing for a challenging flu season after seeing an exceptionally low number of cases last year.

They are urging flu shots – and COVID-19 vaccines – ahead of the winter months.

Dr. Mary Beth Graham, an infectious disease specialist with the Medical College of Wisconsin and Froedtert Hospital, said social distancing and masking were linked to the lower flu numbers last year.

Now, she’s concerned about “mask fatigue.”

People are “tired, and they don’t want to wear them anymore, so there’s a strong potential that we’ll see more spread. And I definitely expect to see more influenza than we saw last year,” she said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, recently approved allowing people to get the COVID-19 and flu vaccines in the same visit.

“The timing works perfectly,” said Greg Stadter, program director for the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership, a co-op of private and public organizations that seeks to improve access to health care for underserved communities. “Let’s not make people go twice.”

With COVID-19 cases also trending up again, Stadter expects coinfection will be a concern in the fall. Graham said that Froedtert will be testing patients for flu and COVID-19 regularly, since symptoms for both diseases are similar. Coinfection can also lead to more severe infection, hospitalization and death.

“There’s a lot of unknown coming into the fall,” Stadter said.

Dr. Emilia Arana, director of pediatric services with Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, urged people to get their flu shots and COVID-19 vaccines, especially parents with children at home.

Recent spikes in the coronavirus have led to an increase in multisystem inflammatory syndrome cases among children, a condition that causes inflammation in multiple areas of the body at once, she said.

She stressed the importance of getting the shots in the arm.

“Now is more important than ever,” Arana said. “You’re adding another layer of protection.”

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Filed Under: Carousel, Health and Wellness, Home, Neighborhoods, News Tagged With: coronavirus, covid-features

About Matt Martinez

Facebook | More stories from Matt

Matthew, a 2020 Marquette University graduate, joins Milwaukee NNS as part of Report For America, a program that seeks to strengthen local journalism by placing journalists in communities that have a greater need for issues based reporting. Prior to joining NNS, Matt developed his reporting skills at the Marquette Wire, on the investigative desk, covering issues such as housing, human trafficking and health care in the Milwaukee.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Recent News

Out-of-state landlords are increasingly buying up property in Milwaukee. Here’s what that means for our neighborhoods.

5 things to know and do the weekend of Feb. 3

FoodRight gives kids an early start on making healthy meals

Advertisement
Give today to support our mission. Donate to Milwaukee NNS.
Advertisement

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Milwaukee NNS Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494


Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in