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the flu shot can help prevent the spread of COVID-19. This is stated in a study by the Monzino Heart Center in Milan published in the scientific journal Vaccinations.
The researchers noted that during the lockdown period, the Italian regions with the highest vaccination coverage over 65 years recorded a fewer infections, Admissions to ICU and deaths from Covid-19. They then concluded that where they were made more vaccines, the lower the spread of the coronavirus.
Flu Vaccine Protects Against Covid-19: The Study
“A 1% increase in vaccination coverage in the elderly, equivalent to approximately 140,000 doses nationwide, could have prevented 78,560 infections, 2,512 hospitalizations, 353 intensive care hospitalizations, and 1,989 deaths from Covid-19.”explains Mauro Amato, researcher at the Monzino Heart Center and author of the article. Therefore, it would be important to promote as far as possible any activity that could lead to an increase in vaccination coverage, especially among those over 65 years of age ”..
The authors of the research point out that more ad hoc studies will be necessary to confirm their hypothesis, but their thesis provides one more reason to make the flu shot this year, as recommended by health authorities and WHO. The simultaneous management of two viral infections that present similar symptoms can be complicated both from the point of view of medical diagnosis and the treatment path to follow in the event of hospitalization and overload of the health system.
The flu virus opens the door to the coronavirus
This one from the Monzino Heart Center in Milan is not the only study to hypothesize that the flu vaccine may be helpful in fighting the coronavirus. Research from the University of Hong Kong published in Lancet states that the influenza virus could facilitate the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the lungs, since some strains of influenza increase the presence of the receptors that the coronavirus uses to attack human cells.
The researchers achieved these results by infecting human tissues in vitro with different virus strains: MERS, SARS, avian H5N1, and the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. Later, the researchers found an increased presence of ACE2 receptors in alveolar cells after infect them with viruses.
The infection also uses another protein, S, to infiltrate cells by attacking ACE2 receptors, the same ones used by the SARS virus. For this reason, elevated levels of ECA2 in the respiratory tract could facilitate the development of the infection.
To the reasons for getting vaccinated for the 2020-2021 flu season, there is therefore another biological one, given that infection by the flu virus could open the door to Covid-19 more easily.
