Seasonal flu shot and the COVID-19 pandemic: don’t miss the last chance

Abstract

This article addresses the data on flu vaccination in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It was demonstrated that flu vaccination decreases the incidence and rate of severe influenza. The result is the significant reduction in the rate of the referral to medical care and less workload of all divisions of medical institutions (i.e., outpatient and inpatient departments, first aid and emergency, laboratories etc.). This decreases the burden on health care system and preserves forces to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The positive effects of flu vaccination on the morbidity, severity, and outcomes from COVID-19 are highlighted. The authors also focus on the low coverage of flu vaccination as one of the key factors of the inadequate preventive efficacy of immunization. The authors provide their own findings on the low coverage of flu vaccination (6.9%) among the children with laboratory verified influenza who were admitted to hospital. Considering an unfavorable situation with the spread of coronavirus infection, the activities aimed at the increase in the coverage of flu vaccination should be promptly accelerated. KEYWORDS: vaccination, flu, novel coronavirus infection, pandemic, COVID-19, seasonal flu shot. FOR CITATION: Zaplatnikov A.L., Girina A.A., Burtseva E.I., Svintsitskaya V.I. Seasonal flu shot and the COVID-19 pandemic: don’t miss the last chance. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2020;4(11):687–690. DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2020-4-11-687-690.