Push For Flu Vaccines During Coronavirus Pandemic Expected To Help Uninsured Coloradans

DENVER (CBS4)- As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, Colorado residents now have to worry about flu season, too. There's a push to get people vaccinated.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced it is receiving hundreds of thousands of publicly-funded doses to meet an increased demand and cover more uninsured Coloradans who might be jobless due to the pandemic.

It's flu shot season in Colorado. Teri Pettit and her daughter Ellie Schieving got theirs Thursday afternoon.

"I'm getting it because I want to keep my parents safe from the flu, because my dad is high risk for COVID-19, so if he got the flu and COVID at the same time it probably wouldn't be good," Schieving said.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released new numbers on the amount of influenza vaccines available for people this year. They typically receive 5,000 publicly funded doses. This year, they'll have 293,6000 to meet the demand during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Public health officials are very worried about having a bad flu year, in addition to a bad upswing of COVID-19 cases at the same time," said Dr. Eric Hill, an Emergency Services Chair for the Medical Center of Aurora.

Hill says the flu and COVID-19 can spread the same way.

"It's going to be coughing, sneezing, touching your hands and touching somebody else," said Hill. "Our busiest months in the hospital are always the flu months. Our number of hospitalizations is always higher, ICU admissions are higher, so if we're fighting a bad influenza year with a lot of hospitalizations and a big uptick in COVID-19, you're looking at a total saturation of the healthcare system."

Something Colorado residents want to avoid.

"It would be bad to get them both at the same time," said Pettit. "I also wouldn't want to be in the hospital with the flu with COVID still out there."