The Importance of Influenza Vaccine and COVID-19 Vaccine

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Influenza virus is a major cause of acute respiratory infections, with a high mortality rate among pregnant women, the elderly, and patients with chronic diseases. Influenza vaccination helps reduce the severity of illness, decrease deaths from influenza complications, and effectively reduce the spread of influenza.

Regarding COVID-19, data on COVID-19 deaths in Thailand show that individuals with underlying conditions have risk factors for death as follows: hypertension 73%, diabetes 55%, hyperlipidemia 30%, chronic kidney disease 17%, heart disease 13%, blood diseases and tuberculosis each 8%.

Both influenza and COVID-19 are respiratory infectious diseases with similar symptoms. Therefore, preventing influenza by vaccination can help reduce confusion in screening for co-infections between influenza and COVID-19.

A study in England found that patients co-infected with COVID-19 and influenza have a 5.92 times higher risk of death compared to those without co-infection. Therefore, vaccination against both influenza and COVID-19 is very important.

Additionally, studies in the elderly group found that those who received the influenza vaccine tend to have a reduced mortality rate from COVID-19. Receiving the influenza vaccine before COVID-19 infection helps reduce hospitalization rates, the use of ventilators, and the length of hospital stays.

When and how far apart should the influenza vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine be administered?

  1. If you have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine, you should get the influenza vaccine first to maximize protection and reduce the severity of both diseases. It is recommended to wait at least 2-4 weeks before receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
  2. If the influenza vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine are available at the same time, get the COVID-19 vaccine first, then the influenza vaccine 2-4 weeks later.
  3. For individuals under 18 years old, the influenza vaccine can be administered immediately, as there is currently insufficient data on COVID-19 vaccines for this group in Thailand.

 

Sources:

  1. Guidelines for seasonal influenza vaccination services 2021, Department of Disease Control and National Health Security Office
  2. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/older-adults.
  3. Death data from April 1 – May 10, 2021, COVID-19 Data Center, Public Relations Department
  4. Stowe J, Tessier E, Zhao H, et al. Interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza and the impact of coinfection on disease severity: a test negative design. medRxiv (preprint) 2020. Available from: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.18.20189647v1.full.pdf.
  5. C. Zanettini, Influenza Vaccination and COVID-19 Mortality in the USA: An Ecological Study, Vaccines 2021, 9, 427
  6. Conlon et al., Impact of the influenza vaccine on COVID-19 infection rates and severity, American Journal of Infection Control 00 (2021) 1−7
  7. Guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination during the 2021 outbreak in Thailand, Department of Disease Control, February 2021
  8. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/clinical-onsiderations.#Coadministration

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