We Can't Predict a COVID-19 Surge, But We Can Prepare Patients for It: AAFP Board Chair Dr Sterling Ransone, Jr

"We know that COVID-19 infections come in surges based on what we've experienced over the past 2 years -- but we just don't know how to predict them," said American Academy of Family Physicians Board Chair Sterling Ransone, Jr, MD.

The virus is still so new that we can't say with certainty that it's seasonal, like influenza, he added, but on the other hand, we have seen cases and hospitalizations rise when the weather gets colder and we spend more time indoors.

In this video conversation with Patient Care^®, Dr Ransone talks about the flu season we know will happen and the wild card potential for a simultaneous COVID-19 surge. The most effective strategy to reduce the impact of both on patients is timely vaccination and, he says, taking time in a busy clinic day to help a patient understand that.

For more conversations with Dr Ransone:

AAFP Board Chair Sterling Ransone, Jr, MD, Has Concerns About Flu Season 2022-2023

Will This be the Year of the Twindemic? AAFP Board Chair Ransone Thinks Out Loud with Patient Care

AAFP Tips on Getting Shots into Arms this Flu Season, with Sterling Ransone, Jr, MD

How to Talk to Patients about Coadministration of Influenza and COVID-19 Vaccines This Year

Sterling Ransone, Jr, MD, is board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians and a clinical assistant professor of medicine and population health at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. He is the physician practice director at Riverside Fishing Bay Family Practice in Deltaville, VA.