The COVID-19 pandemic has altered our daily lives and the way we practice medicine. COVID-19 has also made it difficult to employ measures to assure our safety and that of our patients. This page is designed to aid you and empower your patients to remain safe and make healthy choices.
Featured Resource
National Medical Association Updated Position Statement on COVID-19 Vaccines and Bivalent Boosters
A recently-issued misleading and potentially dangerous public statement, delivered by a high-ranking, elected official regarding the COVID-19 vaccine poses a clear danger to public health. It is for this reason that the Task Force on Vaccines and Therapeutics of the National Medical Association (NMA) feels obligated to issue the following support for the current FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines.
Influenza
Influenza is an acute respiratory disease caused by infection with influenza viruses. The incubation period ranges from 1 to 4 days. Peak virus shedding usually occurs from 1 day before onset of symptoms to 3 days after. Typical features of influenza include abrupt onset of fever and respiratory symptoms such as cough (usually nonproductive), sore throat, and coryza, as well as systemic symptoms such as headache, muscle aches, and fatigue.
COVID-19
COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a disease caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2 and was discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. It is very contagious and has quickly spread around the world. COVID-19 most often causes respiratory symptoms that can feel much like a cold, a flu, or pneumonia. COVID-19 may attack more than your lungs and respiratory system. Other parts of your body may also be affected by the disease.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities
The CDC reports that people from racial and ethnic minority groups experience higher rates of severe influenza (flu) illness. A CDC study examined differences in rates of flu-related hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and in-hospital death by race and ethnicity during 10 flu seasons (2009–2010 through 2018–2019). In this cross-sectional study of influenza-associated outcomes among 113,352 patients hospitalized with influenza over the course of 10 influenza seasons, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian or Alaska Natives persons had higher rates of hospitalization and intensive care unit admission, even after adjusting for age. The greatest disparities were found in the youngest age groups. These findings suggest that targeted prevention and intervention efforts, such as improved influenza vaccine coverage and early use of antiviral treatment, could improve influenza-associated outcomes among racial and ethnic minority groups identified in this study as having higher rates of severe influenza disease.
