While the COVID-19 vaccines and the infections experienced mean that experts see the corona pandemic as having reached an endemic situation, the numbers of RS virus and influenza sufferers are still unusually high. This year's flu vaccine shows very good effectiveness - but Germany is a long way from the desired vaccination rate, which the World Health Organization ( WHO ) puts at 75 percent for older people. Institute of Virology at the UKM (University Hospital of Münster), why a vaccination still worthwhile now and who benefits from it.
The interview about the flu vaccination
Prof. Ludwig, the flu wave not only started unusually early this autumn, but also with many pronounced progressions. Where are we now at the end of the year?
“We are currently still in a phase in which the numbers are increasing, even if there was a slight leveling off in the last week. However, I would attribute this to fewer tests around the holidays. We have to expect the numbers to rise even further in January.”
A flu vaccination is actually recommended in the fall. , if the already high numbers continue to rise according to the forecast , is it still worth getting vaccinated this winter?
“It’s definitely still worth it and for two reasons. On the one hand, we usually see the flu peaks, i.e. the highest numbers, at the end of January and beginning of February, so that is still ahead of us and since the vaccine takes full effect after two weeks, a vaccination now has a good protective effect. And the second reason why you should get vaccinated now is that the vaccine this year fits the circulating strains particularly well and therefore offers very, very good vaccination protection.
The reference to the particularly good effectiveness - which admittedly does not happen every year - could possibly increase the willingness to vaccinate this winter. Who should definitely get vaccinated?
“The vaccination is always recommended for the vulnerable groups, i.e. for the older population, but of course also for people with previous illnesses and a weakened immune system . But if you don't necessarily want to go through a severe flu, it's basically recommended for everyone and we saw with the corona pandemic that broad immune protection in the population is very important in order to fight back an illness and we would support that the flu too.”
Does this recommendation also apply to children?
“For children, I would initially limit it to those who have chronic previous illnesses or who generally get sick frequently. It is true that children, especially small children, can become very seriously ill with the flu and that is why, as a parent, if I have a child who gets sick very often, I should think about vaccination.”
Now, influenza isn't the only respiratory illness currently circulating. What role do the RS virus and the current corona numbers play?
“With COVID-19, the numbers are very encouraging. We haven't seen a massive increase in illnesses over the winter. This means that we can slowly assume that we are moving into an endemic situation. Unfortunately, this is not the case at all with other respiratory diseases. Influenza and the RS virus are currently dominating, the latter especially in children, and we are currently experiencing the highest peak in many years when it comes to severe respiratory illnesses. It should not be forgotten: We are still in the middle of winter, so there are still a few cold months to come and a lot can still affect us. That’s why we can’t give the all-clear at the moment when it comes to respiratory diseases.”
Source:
Health portal
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