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A medical worker draws a flu vaccine as an elderly woman waits to be vaccinated at the Ministry of Health in Asunción, Paraguay, on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. Health authorities are encouraging people over 60 to get vaccinated against influenza. , also a respiratory disease. , to reduce complications for those who may be contacted with the new coronavirus.
Image Credit: AP
DUBAI: There is good news about the flu virus. This year, its global circulation will be much lower, experts say.
The bad news: COVID-19 is still very present, warns the World Health Organization (WHO).
The decreased circulation of the virus could be attributed to mandatory physical distancing and hygiene protocols observed around the world, experts say.
As remote working and schooling are becoming part of the new normal amid the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the seasonal flu is expected to reduce viral transmission as well.
But with more than 27.6 million cases and nearly 900,000 deaths worldwide caused by COVID-19, the start of the flu season could be a “cause for concern,” says the world health body.
Flu season, with COVID-19
And while the low-circulation influenza virus could be a reason for reassurance, but it is also a cause for “concern,” a Lancet article declared this week.
The world, primarily the Northern Hemisphere, is entering flu season (usually October through February, but can last into May).
In the United Arab Emirates, doctors are preparing for the flu season early with a stock of vaccine injections, and some hospitals are reported to buy more than their usual stock of flu shots.
Doctors said they have begun planning for the flu season, with new batches of flu vaccines in the works. Once vaccines are available, people will be counseled to get them.
Due to the risk of COVID-19, doctors advise that the flu vaccine will be more important this year than in the past.
Preparing for a ‘double epidemic’
Meanwhile, experts said it’s important to consider the potential impact of testing and people seeking health care services.
“We must bear in mind that the measures we are implementing to control COVID-19 may also have some benefits for the flu; But with the resurgence of COVID-19 there may also be a double epidemic of flu and COVID-19 during the [northern hemisphere] winter, ”said Richard Pebody (WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark).
“All we can do about it is to be ready and prepared with a series of measures that we have in the ammunition box of our community,” Pebody said according to the magazine.
Increased testing capacity
The lancet The article, published earlier this month, stated that one way to address a potential double epidemic is to increase testing capacity for both COVID-19 and seasonal flu infections.
However, more evidence does not rule out the benefits of social distancing, proper hygiene and the use of masks, especially in public settings, the so-called “non-pharmaceutical interventions” (NPI).
CDC ADVISORYU ON THE FLU SEASON
Flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID-19 are likely to spread this fall and winter.
The exact timing and length of flu seasons can vary, but flu activity often begins to increase in October. Most of the time, influenza activity peaks between December and February, although activity can last until May.
The “peak month of flu activity” is the month with the highest percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for the flu virus during that flu season. During this 36-year period (1982 to 2018), flu activity most frequently peaked in February (15 seasons), followed by December (7 seasons), January (6 seasons), and March (6 seasons). ).
He cited some of the best practices adopted by health authorities. For example, the WHO National Influenza Center at Westmead Hospital (in New South Wales, Australia), which continued to test for other respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
By June this year, the center had performed twice as many tests as normal.
“What was interesting was that we actually had negligible cases of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus compared to previous seasons,” Westmead Hospital’s Jen Kok was quoted as saying. “We were doing a lot of testing, but we just couldn’t find any cases.”
Since New South Wales began recording these infections, detections have been the lowest, despite the largest number of tests.
Would a combined test for COVID-19 and influenza work?
Yes, according to the experts. The reason is that a single sample could be used to distinguish the two infections in patients with similar symptoms.
In July, the US FDA granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) for such a combination test, the third EUA issued by the agency.
A British equivalent of the test is expected to be available in UK National Health Service hospitals from this month (September).
“It would be great if other countries and agencies sought to develop more combined tests, because testing for multiple diseases on a single swab can also help reduce the demand for testing supplies and reduce the risk of exposure from healthcare workers who collect the test. sample, ”said Nídia Sequeira Trovão (US National Institute of Health, Washington, DC, USA).
Promote vaccination programs against influenza
A European CDC official said a possible strategy to curb the likelihood of a double epidemic would be to strengthen existing flu vaccination programs.
The Lancet quoted Pasi Penttinen (European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden) as saying: “We have several questions in the air about what will happen in the next season, but [COVID-19 and influenza] driving at the same time is really something you want to avoid as much as possible. “
A key challenge for health authorities, Penttinen said, is how to expand flu vaccine coverage, adding: “For influenza, we are lucky to have a vaccine. And now, the debate among public health authorities is how to broaden the current consensus flu vaccine target groups. “
Healthcare workers at the forefront of COVID-19 care are likely to be required to get vaccinated against influenza.
Benefits of Flu Vaccines for Children
Vaccination of children is also being considered.
In the 2017-18 flu season, only six EU countries recommended vaccinating children.
Penttinen thinks that “[to vaccinate children or not] it is a question that countries should ask themselves now because vaccinating children against influenza reduces the risk of transmission of influenza to the elderly and, therefore, protects them better than direct vaccination to the elderly ”.
However, expanding coverage of influenza vaccines comes with certain challenges, mainly due to the fact that several countries would have placed an order for the vaccine prior to the pandemic.
Therefore, the increased demand for flu vaccines could now lead to a vaccine shortage, the article said.
Dilemma
“So countries are facing a very difficult dilemma here in terms of how much effort to put into the flu vaccination program in this situation,” Penttinen said.
Experts urged people to adhere to social distancing, wear masks and observe proper hygiene practices, especially hand washing.
They cite evidence of the benefits of these non-pharmaceutical interventions and believe that more preparedness could prevent a serious double epidemic.
Paul Hunter (University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK) stated: “I think the dreaded double epidemic will probably not happen [since] the continued social distancing that we will likely see over the next year should be enough to suppress any influenza epidemic. “
At the same time, there are concerns that with very low influenza activity leading to decreased herd immunity to influenza, when the world returns to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It would be a shame if we overcome COVID-19 and we will be more affected by influenza in the upcoming winter season,” Hunter told The Lancet.
