Crushing headaches, body aches, high fevers, sweating and chills, and severe nausea and vomiting are common. The symptoms are more severe and debilitating than the common cold. For the rest of us, influenza is just a very unpleasant illness. Influenza, while common, is a serious disease which can be deadly for the elderly, the very young, and people with compromised immune systems. Influenza is a seasonal viral illness with the “flu” season being from approximately October to March. The two illnesses are distinctly different, as is the treatment for them. “Flu” is actually influenza while “stomach flu” can refer to a number of different viruses causing similar symptoms. If your child cannot swallow pills and the liquid suspension is unavailable, the capsules can be opened and their contents mixed with another thickened sweet liquid, according to the CDC.People commonly use one word–“flu”-to describe two completely different medical conditions. they can work with you and your doctor to find an appropriate substitution or alternative," Groves adds. "People should be aware, but not alarmed, that this is a potential lower-availability product and they might need to go to a pharmacy outside of their local area."ĭifferent pharmacies are able to get different amounts of drugs at a time, says Groves, and your pharmacist can help identify which locations have the medication you need in stock. If your doctor prescribes a flu antiviral and you're concerned about availability, Groves suggests calling the pharmacy ahead of time to confirm they have it in stock. Once someone is past the window to take flu antivirals, they should focus on supportive care, says Ostrosky: staying hydrated, controlling fever and other symptoms and getting rest. “If you are not able to get it in the first 48 hours, you can still discuss with your doctor whether there could be a benefit, particularly if you’re immunocompromised,” says Ostrosky. What should you do if you have trouble getting flu antivirals? These include people who are elderly, immunocompromised or have underlying conditions like diabetes. Those who would be most affected by shortages are the people who can benefit most from flu antivirals because they are at higher risk of severe outcomes, says Ko. There will be increased instances when individual pharmacies could be temporarily out-of-stock." In an email to, Walgreens confirms that stores do have supply of the medication, but "in some cases, there are isolated and temporary shortages." Walgreens advises patients to call their local pharmacy to ask about availability.ĬVS Health tells in an email statement: "While we’re not experiencing a widespread shortage of Tamiflu at this time, we are seeing increased demand at our stores nationwide and sporadic shipping from select manufacturers. These all require a prescription from a doctor and cannot be purchased over-the-counter. The flu can be treated with antivirals, and there are currently four FDA-approved drugs recommended for use by the CDC: oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu), zanamivir (Relenza), peramivir (Rapivab) and baloxavir marboxil (Xofluza). Albert Ko, infectious disease physician and professor of public health, epidemiology, and medicine at Yale School of Public Health, tells. Because of COVID interventions like masking and social distancing, we've had much less influenza since the beginning of the pandemic, and now we're releasing ourselves from those interventions," Dr. The timing, duration and severity of flu seasons varies each year, but it's clear this season is one of the earliest and most severe flu seasons the U.S. 3 was higher than the rate observed in the same week during every previous flu season going back to 2010-2011. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates that the flu has caused at least 13 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations and 7,300 deaths during this season so far (including 21 pediatric flu deaths).Īccording to the CDC, the number of flu hospital admissions nearly doubled during the week of Thanksgiving, and the cumulative flu hospitalization rate for the week ending on Dec. Nearly all states are reporting high levels of influenza activity, according to the latest data from the U.S.
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