Amid the new coronavirus pandemic the spotlight is on the COVID-19 vaccinations and experts in some countries are concerned that people will skip their flu shots.
Flu cases have dropped to historically low levels during the pandemic. The U.S. and Europe experienced hardly any flu last winter, and the Southern Hemisphere just ended its second flu season of the coronavirus pandemic with little to report.
But with schools and businesses reopened, international travel resuming and far less masking this fall, flu could make a comeback. The big question is whether it will trickle in or roar back and put extra pressure on hospitals already struggling with COVID-19 surges.
“People are sick to death of hearing about having to roll on out and get vaccines of any sort,” said flu specialist Richard Webby of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
Yet after 18 months of little influenza exposure, “we probably as a population don’t have as much immunity against this virus as we typically might,” Webby said. “It makes absolute sense to go on out and get that vaccine and at least prepare for something that, you know, could be quite severe.”
Here are some things to know:
A: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says just about everybody needs an annual flu vaccination, starting with 6-month-old babies. Influenza is most dangerous for adults over age 65, young children, pregnant women and people with certain health conditions, such as heart or lung disease.
A: COVID-19 restrictions including masking and staying home – especially for children, who are flu’s biggest spreaders – clearly had a side benefit of tamping down influenza and other respiratory bugs. But as soon as masks started to come off, the U.S. experienced an unusual summer surge of children hospitalized with a different virus, named RSV, that usually strikes in the winter. That’s a worrying sign of what to expect if flu returns.
A: Flu is notoriously difficult to predict. But there’s a little more circulating in some countries this fall than last, including a recent uptick in China, said Webby, who directs a World Health Organization (WHO) flu center. And people maybe a little more vulnerable: Before the pandemic, 15% to 30% of the population was exposed to flu each year, a missing bump in immunity, he said.
“If flu does at least get a foothold in, it’s going to have more opportunity of spreading this season,” he said.
A: Now. The CDC encourages people to get their vaccines by the end of October. Doctors’ offices, retail pharmacies and local health departments have millions of doses in hand. And most Americans with health insurance can get it with no co-pay.
A: COVID-19 vaccines prevent the coronavirus and flu vaccines prevent influenza. They don’t overlap. But you can catch both viruses at the same time, or one after the other.
“Avoid the double whammy” and get both vaccines, advised the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). For now, COVID-19 vaccines are available for anyone 12 and older in the U.S.
Flu vaccines aren’t as powerful as vaccines against some other diseases but if people do get influenza anyway, they tend to have a much milder illness.
A: Yes, the CDC says it’s fine to pair a flu vaccine with either a primary COVID-19 shot or a booster dose.
A: Flu constantly evolves, and each year’s vaccine is made to fight the strains that international experts deem most likely to circulate. This year all the flu vaccines offered in the U.S. offer protection against all four of those strains. Options include traditional shots or a nasal spray vaccine. There also are shots specifically designed to rev up seniors’ age-weakened immune systems, either with a higher dose or an added immune booster. There are also options for people allergic to eggs, which are used to make some flu shots.
