NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Pediatric clinics have been bombarded on a daily basis with patients showing symptoms of respiratory illnesses over the past month, according to pediatrician Dr Valencia Johnson.
Johnson pointed to the influenza virus as the most common of the diagnosed illnesses with the current flu season and travel seems as the main driver for the uptick in recent weeks.
However, children without a recent travel history are routinely being diagnosed with the flu, as opposed to COVID-19. Johnson said this has motivated their testing strategy.
“We’ve seen a lot of, primarily influenza A because, at Doctors Hospital, everybody who comes there has a respiratory panel done or the bio panel and that is able to tell us which viruses that they’re getting,” said Johnson.
“..for all of the kids that we’re seeing on a regular basis, we’re not testing them for COVID for this runny nose and cough business.”
It has been speculated that the increase in public gatherings since the relaxation of most COVID-19 has contributed to the rise in influenza-like illnesses globally. Johnson claimed that she noticed the trend approximately three weeks after the opening of school when numbers were “starting to fly.”
“The numbers were so high where I work they had to tell people we can’t take anyone else today,” she said.
Although face-to-face learning has returned for the majority of schools, Johnson said that the time students have had away from the classroom created an unintended side effect of under-exposed immune systems.
“I think the problem is for the last two years we’ve had no exposure to nothing except for COVID… so our immune systems, even us as adults, are kind of naive. Whereas, we would be used to finding these viruses every year, when COVID came it took over,” she explained.
“And then because we were home, we didn’t have any challenges there were no viruses going around, and there was nobody traveling. So for some kids under two, this is the first time they’re ever having a flu season.”
Johnson also acknowledged growing vaccine hesitancy, while reminding parents that every child over six months is recommended to take the flu shot.
She also recommended that certain groups, such as young children, the elderly, and those living with diseases, become vaccinated to mitigate the effects of seasonal illnesses.
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