New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)

Flu shot helps battle COVID

- Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen

At the 2019 Golden Globe Awards, hosts Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh arranged for health care workers to come onstage and offer audience members free flu shots — a first for a Hollywood awards show, for sure. But we wonder how upto-date folks are going to be with this year’s flu shot. One study, looking at managed Medicaid and some Medicare-related claims (not those at pharmacies or through other types of insurance), found that flu inoculatio­ns dropped by up to 35% in 2020 compared with 2019.

This year, we hope everyone who is eligible receives the flu shot. Not only will it reduce your risk for influenza and lessen your symptoms if you do get it, the flu shot helps fight off COVID-19 symptoms, too.

A study in PLOS One looked at info on more than 74,000 people and found that if you contract COVID-19, the flu vaccine can help you avoid admission to an emergency department or ICU and protect you against complicati­ons such as sepsis, stroke and deep vein thrombosis.

This year’s flu shots will be quadrivale­nt (cover four strains of the virus) and 87% will be thimerosal-free or thimerosal-reduced (that’s a mercury-based preservati­ve). About 18% will be egg-free. They’re expected to be available in September and can be administer­ed along with other vaccines (like a COVID-19 booster) without worrying about the timing, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee. So, get double benefits with one vaccinatio­n — that’ll be a real shot in the arm for your better health.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare. com.

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