Should not we vaccinate the public against seasonal influenza all over the year in COVID-19 era?

Should not we vaccinate the public against seasonal influenza all over the year in COVID-19 era?

Mohamed Farouk Allam (1,2,3)* and Khaled Mahmoud Abd-Elaziz (2)

1. Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

2. Department of Community, Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

3. Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

 

Current Research in Public Health 2023:3(2):44–46.

DOI: 10.31586/crph.2023.706

ABSTRACT

The pandemic of the SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) that was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 is still ongoing. One of the early recommendations from CDC and other international agencies is the seasonal influenza vaccination to decrease the effects and burden of COVID-19 pandemic. This review suggests that during COVID-19 pandemic vaccination against seasonal influenza should be conducted all over the year, even for young age groups, because of several reasons. First, the complications of seasonal influenza, especially pneumonia, could increase the burden on the saturated healthcare systems worldwide. Second, the resemblance of symptoms and signs of both seasonal influenza and COVID-19 will difficult diagnosing and isolation of COVID-19 patients. Third, it has been postulated that there is a cross immunity between seasonal influenza and COVID-19.

 

Keywords: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Influenza, Vaccine, Review.

 

Current Research in Public Health 2023.

https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/CRPH/article/view/706