As the murky summer months pass into the northern hemisphere, public health officials are already alerting to the cold autumn and winter. Or as they call it, flu season.
The flu virus is expected to circulate around October, but this year there is an added curveball: the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which will almost certainly continue through the winter months. Scientists are not sure what to expect with two respiratory infections spreading at the same time, but they do know they could have a deadly combination: “A potential co-circulation of Covid-19 and flu could place an enormous burden on the health system of our nation and result in many diseases, hospitalizations and deaths, ”Jasmine Reed, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an email.
In addition, public health professionals have one clear message for Americans: Get your flu vaccine, and get it early.
Does the flu vaccine protect you against Covid-19?
No – but it can still save your life.
The flu is caused by a flu virus, while Covid-19 is caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. The flu jab can only prepare your immune system for future encounters with flu, not SARS-CoV-2.
But remarkably, the two viruses cause many of the same symptoms. Both attack the airways and lungs, and cause fever, nausea, and even vomiting and diarrhea. (The only symptoms that do not overlap often are the loss of smell and taste and tea lessons associated with Covid-19 – but that does not mean they can not happen to people with the flu.)
There is only enough danger in one of these infections; worldwide estimates suggest that the flu kills 389,000 people annually, and Covid-19 has so far killed more than 742,000 people. But the fear in the coming months is that a person could develop both of these infections either at the same time, as one directly after the other. Get your flu vaccine as early as you can to reduce the chance of that happening.
“My biggest concern is the damage to the airways,” says MeiLan Han, a pulmonologist at the University of Michigan. If the flu like Covid-19 significantly damages the lungs during a single infection, and the organs do not have time to fully heal afterward, a secondary infection may become harder to fight.
A person contracting a relatively mild case of Covid-19 could then be hospitalized if they catch the flu shortly thereafter, even if they can normally fight the flu at home.
This is dangerous for individuals, as well as for the hospitals that may have to deal with the burden of more patients. “When a hospital grows with Covid-19, there is very little bandwidth to do anything else,” Han says. It’s also expensive: the American Hospital Association estimates that Covid-19 costs the U.S. hospital system about $ 50.7 billion a month, and some people who are hospitalized have received bills in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
People at high risk for developing serious flu cases also overlap with those at high risk for Covid-19 complications. These people are older adults, people with pre-existing conditions or who are otherwise immunocompromised, and pregnant people. The only exception is children; the flu may be more fatal in pediatric patients, but Covid-19 is not normally. That said, children have died from Covid-19, and they can spread the virus to others.
The only way to prevent any of these infections is with a vaccine. Faxes for Covid-19 are still in the works. However, influenza vaccines are developed and distributed annually. Each year, the World Health Organization estimates which strains of the ever-mutating flu are more likely to circulate, and adjusts a vaccine to match (this year it is a combination of three different strains).
Influenza vaccines are not always 100% effective, but even a shot with about 40% efficiency, like last year, can protect some people from getting sick, or help them fight infections a little easier. And that’s especially important during the Covid-19 pandemic.
When and where can I get a flu vaccine?
The answer varies worldwide, but typically governments buy flu vaccines for people living in their countries. These faxes can then be distributed through doctors’ offices, schools, and offices. Some of those locations may not be available this year due to the ongoing pandemic, so public health officials are preparing to rely on other distribution methods, such as pharmacies, supermarkets, and even drive distribution points, even more than normal.
This year, the US CDC estimates that fax manufacturers will supply the country with 194 to 198 million doses of influenza vaccine, compared to 175 million doses last year: They expect an increased demand for influenza vaccines due to the pandemic. The organization needs to have a tool to look for where you can get a flu vaccine ready by Sept. 1, according to NPR. Because flu shots are a form of preventative medicine, insurance companies and federal health insurance in the US must cover them for free.
The sooner you can catch a flu, the less likely you are to get seriously ill during the fall and winter months. It will also streamline the process of getting a Covid-19 vaccine if available; at the earliest, that will realistically be some time next year. The more that fax administrators can avoid bottlenecks from high demand for the flu vaccine while giving Covid-19 vaccines, the better.
