Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program

Christina Wojewoda, M.D., professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, director of the clinical microbiology lab at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and chair of College of American Pathologists Clinical Microbiology Committee

(OCTOBER 10, 2022) Brace yourself for what could be a bad flu season, warned Christina Wojewoda, M.D., professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, in an interview with WGNO-TV in New Orleans during the College of American Pathologists Convention.

“Our best predictor is what Australia sees, which is our summer, which is their winter. Their winter had the worst flu season than they’ve had in the last five years,” she said. “We are starting to see flu numbers creep up.”

Wojewoda, director of the clinical microbiology lab at the University of Vermont Medical Center and chair of College of American Pathologists Clinical Microbiology Committee, explained that the reason flu cases have been down in recent years is because of COVID-19 and the fact that people were wearing masks and social distancing and now they’re not. “That means we haven’t been exposed to respiratory viruses like influenza so our bodies may not have the immune response that we usually have from getting infected seasonally with respiratory viruses,” she said.

That’s why this year it is even more important to get your flu shot, along with your COVID-19 booster shot to give you the ultimate protection. “One in one arm, one in the other, get it all taken care of in one appointment. These are two totally different viruses. You need both shots to make sure you are as protected as you can be, this fall and winter,” Wojewoda said.