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Flu Shot and Covid-19: Is There A Possible Interference?
Studies are divided into whether influenza vaccines increase or decrease the risk of more severe Covid-19.
Flu season in the U.S. has started this month and is expected to peak during the winter, from December to February. To avoid Covid-19 and flu co-infection, the influenza vaccine this year has been said as the most important one could ever take, Elemental reported. This is sound advice since co-infections are much worse than either Covid-19 or flu by itself.
But new data have raised concerns — which the study author himself did not anticipate — about the possible interference of influenza vaccines in Covid-19 survivability. Before diving into this data, let’s comprehend what prior studies on this matter have found.
Prior data: Flu shot can protect against Covid-19
A September study from Ohio compared the hospital data of 4,138 Covid-19 patients vaccinated for influenza during the 2019/2020 season with 9,082 unvaccinated Covid-19 patients. Adjusting for confounders (e.g., age, sex, income, comorbidities), they found no association between influenza vaccination and risks of Covid-19 infection, hospitalization, ICU admission, or death. A study in Spain of 11,201…
