SUNRAYSIA residents are being warned against thinking this year’s flu shot will protect them from coronavirus.
But people are being reminded to get the flu vaccine to ease the strain on the health system.
Mildura Chemist Warehouse managing partner Eric Oguzkaya said while there was still no clarity from the government about when flu shots would be available, it was important that people still vaccinated when the time arrived.
“100 per cent people should still get the flu shot,” he said. “It won’t protect you at all (from coronavirus), but if both viruses are running around then that could potentially throw your immune system and wreak havoc on the health system.
“It will be interesting to see if this flu season isn’t as bad because people are practicing hand hygiene and social distancing. If we do the right thing then the flu should be minimal. We hope, hope, fingers crossed.”
Australian Medical Association’s Richard Kidd said COVID-19 and the flu are completely different diseases.
“The flu vaccine is not going to protect you directly against the coronavirus,” Dr Kidd told AAP.
“The (flu) vaccine is a very specialised vaccine for giving protection against four strains of flu and that changes every year.”
Dr Kidd has seen all sorts of scams claiming a cure for COVID-19, like alternative medicines, vibration therapy and even crystals.
“It’s a worrying time because when people get panicky as we’ve seen, rationality goes out the window,” he said.
“We all need to be very, very careful now. And the last thing we need to do is be spending a lot of money fruitlessly on a scam.”
Dr Kidd said the best way to keep safe was to practice the social distancing and hygiene measures recommended by the government.
“I would prefer to call it physical distancing,” he said.
“It’s about just maintaining that safe physical distance. Some people refer to it as protecting your personal space.”
Medicines delivered to homes
LOCAL pharmacies have partnered up with Sunassist to offer free deliveries for medication.
Chemist Warehouse managing partner Eric Oguzkaya said the move was aimed at keeping vulnerable people at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
“There are people over 70, people in self quarantine, those with chronic illnesses or have a young baby in the house. We want to keep them at home and with a delivery order there is zero contact. All drivers are trained with the right protocol,” Mr Oguzkaya explained.
“The pharmacy is trying to put things in place to keep people at home. When you order PBS medications we will delivery any shop items at the same time with one delivery per month.”
“There will also be click and collect that we can bring out to the car.
“At the end of the day, people can’t just think that having hand sanitizer and a mask you will right, because every health professional and expert is saying ‘stay at home, that is the key’.
