AdventHealth physician: COVID-19 and flu could add risk to the Thanksgiving menu

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 19, 2020 – This morning on the AdventHealth Morning Briefing, Dr. Tim Hendrix, medical director at AdventHealth Centra Care, recommended people stay home for family gatherings this holiday season.

The risk of travelers spreading COVID-19 and influenza is heightened this year, he said, and this is no time to let your guard down with masking, frequent hand washing and social distancing.

“I know we’ve been at this for months and we want to see our family,” Hendrix said, “but you don’t want to put people at risk.”

As of this morning there are nearly 330 COVID-19-positive hospitalizations throughout the seven-county AdventHealth system in Central Florida. Hendrix acknowledged a slight uptick of flu cases at Centra Care as we move further into the traditional flu season. “Get a flu shot,” he said.

In vaccine news, AdventHealth has been tapped by the state of Florida as one of the first sites to store and administer the new COVID-19 vaccine – or vaccines – as they come online for use. More details about vaccine availability will come in the weeks and months ahead.

Hendrix encouraged people to sign-up for clinical trials already underway, including at AdventHealth. “One single vaccine is not going to be the answer,” Hendrix said. “It’s going to be several weeks and months before we get that [vaccine] out to the public. This is a marathon. We have a long way to go.”

We encourage you to refer to the video on the Life at AdventHealth Central Florida page to pull direct quotes from Hendrix. The video may be downloaded by following this link: https://vimeo.com/480921008#t=157s

There will be no AdventHealth Morning Briefing next Thursday as we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, but we will return Thursday, Dec. 3 with more updates on the COVID-19 pandemic. Videos stream on the Life at AdventHealth Central Florida page and are saved in our newsroom at www.AdventHealthOrlandoNews.com.