Virologists strongly urge people to get flu vaccine this fall
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – With seemingly no end in sight for the COVID-19 pandemic, virologists are strongly suggesting Americans get their flu vaccinations this fall.
Experts at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital said while there is not yet a proven vaccine for COVID-19, everyone should get their flu vaccines beginning in September to avoid a potential crisis from seasonal flu and COVID raging at the same time.
The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention recommend all people get this year’s flu vaccine to help build immunity for the upcoming flu season.
“The combination of both the coronavirus and influenza virus swirling together throughout the U.S. this fall and winter has the potential to exacerbate the strain on an already struggling public health system,” said Richard Webby, a flu virologist at St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the World Health Organization. “The two viruses cause initial symptoms that are difficult to distinguish, have their biggest effect on the elderly and those with similar underlying conditions and, at the severe end of the disease spectrum, cause competition for similar life-saving hospital equipment.”
Webby warns people to not wait until the flu begins to spike before getting their flu shot. Getting a vaccine early will give the body time to build immunity and protection from the influenza virus. The CDC said it can take as long as two weeks for a person to develop immunity after receiving the flu vaccine.
Stacey Schultz-Cherry, a virologist with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, said that development of a vaccine for COVID-19 is very different than a vaccine for seasonal flu.
“A vaccine for COVID-19 is a little bit different from a flu vaccine. We’ve had experience with flu vaccines, and you have established platforms, but COVID-19 is a new virus no one has seen before and you have to take more precautions,” she said.
As the southern hemisphere experiences its seasonal flu in the late spring and summer months, the U.S. often looks to Australia and South America to see how America’s flu season may play out. Health and safety efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have coincidentally have also had a positive effect in nearly wiping out the flu.
A Wall Street Journal report from David Luhnow and Alice Uribe shows flu cases in Chile for the season are just over 1,000 compared to nearly 21,000 last year.