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Healthwatch 16: COVID-19 and flu shots

COVID-19 cases are going down in many parts of the country. But we are still seeing several thousand positive cases per day here in Pennsylvania.

DANVILLE, Pa. — As temperatures drop, more people will gather indoors. Doctors at Geisinger say that could be a breeding ground for both the flu and COVID-19.

While Geisinger has not yet seen any significant flu in its system, Dr. Stanley Martin, director of infectious diseases at Geisinger, anticipates they could.

"Having to manage flu and COVID at the same time could make people potentially very, very sick," Dr. Martin said.

COVID-19 cases are lowering in many parts of the country and stabilizing in Pennsylvania. Even so, the Keystone State is still seeing several thousand cases per day.

"Unfortunately for us in central and northeast Pennsylvania, we still have quite a few hot spots with a large number of cases," Dr. Martin said.

Geisinger currently has nearly 200 people hospitalized with COVID-19, of which 85 percent are not fully vaccinated.

Geisinger is encouraging people to get vaccinated for both flu and COVID-19.

"One of the things that we have going for us this year is we have vaccinations."

Dr. Martin says you should still get vaccinated for COVID-19 even if you have had the virus.

"If you take people who have had COVID and recovered and you give them the vaccine, they are much less likely to get COVID again compared to the people who had COVID, recovered, and never got vaccinated."

Dr. Martin says if you get vaccinated now, you will most likely be protected in time for the holiday season.

Watch more Healthwatch 16 stories on YouTube.  

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