Influenza vaccination protects against a severe course of COVID-19

Vaccinate as many people as possible against COVID-19: This is the biggest challenge in dealing with the pandemic at the moment. It is already clear that it will take some time before vaccination is available in all parts of the world. Until then, flu vaccination could at least protect against a severe course, as a new study from the University of Miami shows: people who were vaccinated against the flu two weeks to six months before their Covid-19 illness They had to be treated 58 percent less often. Patients are considered in the hospital who have not been vaccinated. They were 45 percent less likely to develop sepsis, 58 percent less likely to have a stroke and 40 percent less likely to have thrombosis.

The study included data from over 70 million COVID-19 patients, who were divided into two groups. Both groups had similar numbers of people of similar age, gender and medical history such as smoking, diabetes, obesity or lung disease. The only difference between them was the flu shot.

It is not yet clear why the flu shot has such a positive effect on COVID-19. Researchers suspect that vaccination generally strengthens our immune system and thus better prepares it against other pathogens. According to the researchers, it is clear that the flu vaccine is by no means a substitute for vaccines against the coronavirus. “Only a very small fraction of the global population is currently fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” said Dr. Devinder Singh, senior study author. For others, flu vaccination may be a way to protect themselves from a severe course until they themselves receive a vaccination offer against COVID-19.