TAMPA, Fla. — While Labor Day usually conjures up images of boating, beaches and barbecues, in the age of COVID-19, doctors say how we spend the holiday could set the stage for what is already predicted to be an infectious fall and winter -- if we are not careful.
"Every opportunity for us to do the right thing and try to limit cases is going to reduce the impact down the road as we've seen. It's kind of cumulative, right?” said Dr. Michael Lauzardo of the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida.
The keyword here is "cumulative,” as in the sum of our actions this weekend build upon each other, and if we're not careful, the result could be catastrophic.
"When you build up cases the rate increases to a certain level. Even though it's early for flu season to start, we're in kind of the preventive phase now,” Lauzardo said.
RELATED: COVID-19 safety encouraged as at least 75,000 people travel to Tampa Bay this Labor Day weekend
This means our Labor Day behavior is key to preventing a spike heading into early fall. Labor Day is a little different than Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Flu season starts next month, and if COVID-19 cases spike with the flu, doctors say we could be looking at a “twindemic.”
"It's a really critical time because...we seem to be leveling off at a relatively high level of disease in the community. It's about two to three times higher than it was back in April during our first spike. So, we have a little bit more work to do and we know that holidays are times when we like to be very social,” said Dr. Marissa Levine of the University of South Florida.
Doctors also say the threat of a twindemic and no vaccine for COVID-19 are why flu shots will be so critical this year. The CDC says it expects a record number of doses will be distributed -- close to 200 million.
"We don't need the confusion that flu could cause. And anything that can help minimize that is really necessary. All of our hygienic practices will help, but we really encourage flu vaccination. And this month is the time to be thinking about it,” Levine said.
RELATED: Visit St. Pete/Clearwater launches new safety campaign 'Rise to Shine' ahead of Labor Day weekend
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