Flu vaccine protects against some serious effects of COVID-19, study finds



[ad_1]

New research suggests that patients who received their annual flu shot before contracting the coronavirus may have some degree of protection against the serious effects associated with COVID-19, such as stroke, sepsis, and thrombosis. deep vein (DVT).

Data collected from patients around the world and presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) suggests that those who had received a flu shot before COVID-19 were both less likely to go to the emergency room. and less likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).

Researchers at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami created two groups of 37,377 patients with certain risk factors for serious effects of COVID-19 such as age, obesity, lung disease, smoking and other health problems. The first group had received the flu vaccine between two weeks and six months before contracting COVID-19, while members of the second group had also contracted COVID-19 but had not received a prior influenza vaccine.

MODERNA INFLUENZA VACCINE TEST mRNA

The team then compared the incidence rate of 15 adverse reactions, including stroke, sepsis, and DVT, as mentioned above, as well as pulmonary embolism, acute respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress, joint pain, kidney failure, anorexia, heart attack, pneumonia, emergency department visits, hospital admissions, intensive care admissions and death within 120 days of positive test between the two groups.

Among the COVID-19 group that did not receive a flu vaccine, researchers noted a 20% increased chance of being admitted to intensive care, a 45% increased chance of developing sepsis, an increased likelihood 58% of having a stroke and an increased likelihood of 58%. probability of going to the emergency room.

The researchers noted that the risk of death was not reduced.

IS IT A COLD OR COVID-19? SYMPTMS TO LOOK FOR

It’s unclear exactly how the shot provides protection against COVID-19, and the team said their findings strengthen the call for more research.

“The flu shot can even benefit people who are reluctant to receive a COVID-19 vaccine due to the novelty of the technology,” said Susan Taghioff, research assistant at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. “Despite this, the influenza vaccine is in no way a substitute for the COVID-19 vaccine, and we advocate that everyone receive their COVID-19 vaccine if possible. Continued promotion of the influenza vaccine also has the potential to helping the world people avoid a possible “twindemic” – a simultaneous epidemic of influenza and coronavirus. ”

Taghioff said that regardless of the degree of protection offered by the vaccine, “the mere fact of being able to conserve global health care resources by controlling the number of influenza cases is reason enough to defend continued efforts to promote influenza vaccination “.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Several ongoing studies or planned research are examining a combination vaccine that is said to simultaneously target influenza, COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. Moderna, which is currently testing an mRNA influenza vaccine in clinical trial participants, is among the companies that have announced plans to create a combination vaccine.

[ad_2]

Source link