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Amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, winter in the Northern Hemisphere is fast approaching, which will increase influenza cases. Health experts urge people to get vaccinated against the flu.
Vaccination against influenza is an important way to reduce the burden on the health system, since more than ten months have passed since the appearance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19 disease.
While the first wave of the pandemic missed most of the flu season in Europe and the United States, a second wave of COVID is likely to overlap with the 2020-2021 season. Healthcare systems are under considerable strain during a typical flu season, which would be exacerbated if there were an increase in COVID-19 cases this year.
Now a team of researchers from Keele University and Public Health England set out to determine how many UK residents intend to get a flu shot amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers found that 55.8 percent of the people intended to get vaccinated.
The study
The study, which appeared as a preprint in the medRxiv* server, estimated number of people willing to get vaccinated against influenza in preparation for winter.
The team recruited a nationally representative sample of 1,500 UK adults through Prolific’s online research panel. Participants were asked to complete a survey asking sociodemographic profiles, clinical questions, COVID-19, and possible COVID-19 vaccination.
Approximately 645 participants are eligible for vaccination. Of these, more than half said they intended to get a flu shot. Previous research suggests that greater acceptance of the flu vaccine may help contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, steps to help everyone pursue their intention are crucial.
Additionally, the team asked participants if they had received a flu shot in the past year and how likely they were to get a flu shot this year. Of the 514 eligible respondents who showed a clear intention to get a flu shot, 60.6 percent reported receiving the vaccine last winter, while 39.4 percent said they were not vaccinated.
The study findings strongly suggest that those who received the flu vaccine the previous year are likely to intend to get it again this year. However, the intention to vaccinate in these vaccine-eligible individuals was greater than the uptake reported last year. This may mean that acceptance this year may be lower than that of those who said they intended to be vaccinated.
Therefore, health agencies and governments must make efforts to turn positive intentions into behavior. Proper messaging, information dissemination, and vaccine delivery should ensure that these people receive the vaccine, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic has left many people locked in their homes. Some people are also afraid of going to hospitals or clinics to get a flu shot due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Increasing the adoption of seasonal influenza vaccine in a timely manner will relieve pressure on the service. For this to be successful, strategies to achieve this increase must be implemented now, ”the researchers concluded in the study.
Flu Season and COVID-19
The skyrocketing rise in COVID-19 cases around the world, especially in countries reporting the second wave of outbreaks, can affect health systems. Many hospitals are maximizing their bed capacity to accommodate coronavirus cases.
With the arrival of the flu season, hospitalizations are expected to increase. With two diseases ravaging the world, hospitals may lack the human resources and facilities to care for all patients. Therefore, prevention of influenza, which can also lead to hospitalizations in high-risk populations, is critical.
Influenza vaccination in the UK occurs primarily from December to March each year, with the national vaccination program starting in September. Vaccination is free through the NHS for children between the ages of two and eleven, adults over 65, pregnant women, healthy workers, and people at high risk for complications from influenza.
*Important news
medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and therefore should not be considered conclusive, guide clinical practice / health-related behavior, or be treated as established information.
