The flu season is coming, have you got a flu vaccine?
At present, the global new crown epidemics are one after another. Autumn and winter are the seasons for respiratory diseases. Lower temperatures are conducive to the survival and spread of new crowns, influenza and other viruses. There is a risk of overlapping epidemics of the new crown epidemic and influenza and other respiratory infectious diseases this autumn and winter. The importance of sexual influenza prevention and control has become more prominent.
Although my country has contained the new crown epidemic, the global epidemic situation is still severe. In addition, the low temperature in autumn and winter may make the new crown virus easier to survive and spread, and there is a risk of the new crown virus and influenza virus co-transmitting.
The early symptoms of influenza and COVID-19 are cough, fever, etc. It is difficult for doctors to distinguish immediately when people who have not been vaccinated against influenza, which will increase the risk of further cross-infection.
On August 18, the World Health Organization emphasized that the inoculation rate of influenza vaccines should be increased to prevent influenza and prevent and control influenza and related complications.
Wang Chen, an expert in respiratory medicine and critical care medicine, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that once new coronary pneumonia merges with influenza in autumn, winter and spring, it will increase the difficulty of differential diagnosis, and the difficulty and cost of isolating people will also increase significantly. Timely and universal influenza vaccination is the most Effective way.
Experts believe that flu will reduce the body's immunity and cause the body's ability to prevent diseases.
Influenza vaccination can indirectly enhance disease resistance and help prevent new coronary pneumonia. It is recommended to complete the vaccination before the end of October, because the production of antibodies takes a certain amount of time.
In order to better guide my country's influenza prevention and control and vaccine application work, the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention organized relevant experts to compile and issue the "China Influenza Vaccination Technical Guidelines (2020-2021)" in a timely manner.
Considering the background of the continued global epidemic of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the guidelines recommend the following populations as priority vaccination targets:
Medical personnel, including clinical rescue personnel, public health personnel, health and quarantine personnel, etc.;
Vulnerable people and employees in places where people gather in elderly care institutions, long-term care institutions, or welfare homes;
People in key places, such as teachers and students in kindergarten institutions, primary and secondary schools, detainees and staff of prison institutions, etc.;
Other high-risk groups of influenza include elderly people aged 60 and above, children aged 6 to 5 years, patients with chronic diseases, family members and caregivers of infants under 6 months of age, and women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the flu season.
People who are ≥ 6 months old and have no contraindications can be vaccinated against influenza.
Should the general population get the flu vaccine?
Will I definitely not get the flu if I get the flu vaccine?
Combined with the "Technical Guidelines for Influenza Vaccination in China (2020-2021)" and related literature, Sun Bing, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, and Tang Xiao, deputy chief physician, answered public concerns.
How does flu and new crown infection differ
Influenza is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by influenza virus, which seriously endangers people's health.
Influenza virus is antigenically variable and spreads rapidly. It can cause seasonal epidemics every year, and outbreaks can occur in schools, nurseries, nursing homes and other places where people gather.
The annual seasonal influenza epidemic can cause 3 to 5 million severe cases and 290,000 to 650,000 respiratory disease-related deaths globally.
High-risk groups such as pregnant women, infants, the elderly, and patients with chronic underlying diseases are at higher risk of severe illness and death after flu.
According to existing case data, the new coronavirus infection is mainly manifested by fever, dry cough, fatigue, etc., and a small number of patients are accompanied by nasal congestion, runny nose, diarrhea and other upper respiratory and digestive tract symptoms.
Severe cases often have difficulty breathing after 1 week, and severe cases rapidly progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock, difficult to correct metabolic acidosis, coagulation dysfunction, and multiple organ failure.
Influenza is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by influenza virus. It has the characteristics of sudden onset, high fever, fatigue, muscle pain, etc., and can cause serious complications.
Common complications include pneumonia, paranasal sinusitis, otitis media, laryngitis, bronchitis, etc.
COVID-19 and influenza are both respiratory infectious diseases, and the symptoms are very similar. With the advent of autumn and winter, respiratory infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and seasonal influenza may appear and interact with each other, which increases the difficulty of differential diagnosis and the complexity of the epidemic, which is not conducive to the epidemic. Prevention and control.
The effective prevention method is to get the flu vaccine as soon as possible for key populations.
Common flu vaccine
Currently, the main types of influenza vaccines are: inactivated influenza vaccines, recombinant influenza vaccines, and live attenuated influenza vaccines.
It should be noted that the live attenuated influenza vaccine is not suitable for all people. For details, please consult the community health service department or the local CDC.
Quantity of influenza virus hemagglutinin antigen contained in vaccine:
Trivalent vaccine: A H1N1 influenza virus, A H3N2 influenza virus, 1 type B influenza virus.
Four-valent vaccine: A H1N1 influenza virus, A H3N2 influenza virus, 2 types of influenza B virus.
In theory, the preventive effect of the 4-valent vaccine is better.
Will I not get the flu if I get the flu vaccine?
No vaccine is 100% effective. The flu vaccine can protect most people from the flu. If you have already received the flu vaccine and still get the flu, the symptoms may be much lighter than without the vaccine.
In addition, it should be noted that the flu vaccine does not make the vaccinated person immune to other pathogenic viruses.
People who have had flu within a year or have been vaccinated against flu in the previous season, do they need flu vaccination this season?
First of all, there are variations in influenza virus epidemic strains in different years, so the influenza virus strains targeted by influenza vaccines in different years may be different.
Secondly, after suffering from the flu, it is only possible to have a certain degree of immunity to the same flu virus for a certain period of time, so it is not certain whether the protection effect can still be produced during the flu season this year.
Therefore, in order to get the greatest degree of protection, even if you have had the flu within 1 year or have been vaccinated with the previous season's flu vaccine, given that the antibody titer of most vaccinators has dropped significantly, even if the flu vaccine composition is exactly the same as the previous season, It is still recommended to vaccinate before the flu season that year.
Can immunosuppressed patients get influenza vaccine
It is recommended to inoculate inactivated influenza vaccine or recombinant influenza vaccine, but not live attenuated influenza vaccine.
In some cases, such as those with congenital immunodeficiency, cancer chemotherapy and immunosuppressive drugs, the immune response to influenza vaccine may be weakened.
Including nursing staff who take care of immunosuppressed patients should also receive inactivated influenza vaccine or recombinant influenza vaccine in time.
In addition, experts remind that, specific to individuals, you must consult your doctor or vaccinators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before getting the flu vaccine.