Overworked immune system
According to the virologists, this winter you will be confronted for the first time with the fact that the flu and the coronavirus are circulating at the same time. “This means that the risk of double infections, which we expect to be particularly difficult, increases.”
Because the human immune system is overwhelmed with fighting both pathogens, “it can lead to a massive inflammatory reaction”. There were corresponding reports from China, for example, where double infections were particularly difficult at the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Case studies that allow predictions about the course of such a double infection with the Omikron variant are not yet available. The Omikron variant and its milder course compared to the delta version is in any case no reason to give the all-clear, especially if there is no vaccination.
The good news: effective prophylaxis is available against both the flu and Covid-19. Adults and children aged six months and over would be well advised to pick up both vaccinations, Redlberger-Fritz said in December. The vaccines can be administered at the same time. “You can of course act pragmatically and wait for any harmless vaccination reactions and take the second trick a few days later.”
Protect small children
Having younger children under five vaccinated against the flu is also important because no Covid vaccine has yet been approved for this age group, confirmed Maria Paulke-Korinek, Head of Vaccination Department at the Ministry of Health, in the same press conference in December 2021: “Here the studies are not yet advanced enough. Too little is known about the exact dosage and tolerability. It is all the more important that the environment of smaller children can be vaccinated against corona. “