These clinics will offer two-for-one vaccines: against covid-19 and influenza

(CNN) – They are a staple in most communities in the United States during the fall: flu vaccination clinics. But this year many will offer an extra: vaccines against covid-19.
As the delta variant spreads and uncertainty remains about what will happen in the flu season, joint vaccination clinics have popped up in cities and counties across the country to offer a one-stop shop for a vaccine option. against covid, influenza or both.

“I think many of us are concerned that we did not have a lot of influenza last year. Will we have a convergence of pandemic and influenza at the same time, when we already have difficulties in our health centers?” Dr. Robert Hopkins, chief, told CNN. General Internal Medicine of the Arkansas University of Medical Sciences and President of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee.

Last week, the Arkansas University of Medical Sciences opened a new vaccination clinic in Little Rock to provide COVID-19 and influenza vaccines for students, staff, and anyone in the community.

“We are trying, as much as possible, to address the need for prevention of both COVID-19 and influenza, and as you well know, the COVID-19 vaccination rates in Arkansas are not where we would like them, by far.” Hopkins said.

“If someone comes to ask for the influenza vaccine and has not been vaccinated against covid-19, then we can encourage them to get both, or vice versa,” he said. “If they arrive for the vaccine against covid and have not been vaccinated against influenza, we can encourage both of them, and potentially we will have a greater impact on prevention efforts for both diseases. “

Also, last week a health clinic was implemented. joint vaccination against covid-19 and influenza in Lumberton, North Carolina.

On Wednesday, the Robeson Community College hosted the clinic, in collaboration with Walgreens, to administer COVID-19 and influenza vaccines to students, faculty, staff, and the general public.

The university pledged to the White House and the US Department of Education to be a “vaccine driver“by delivering vaccines to students and the community and, so far, helped vaccinate more than 200 people against COVID-19 through clinics on its campus. Robeson County has one of the highest vaccination rates North Carolina casualties, Melissa Singler, president of Robeson Community College, wrote in an email to CNN.

“We believe that holding a joint vaccination clinic for COVID-19 and influenza is the right thing to do,” Singler wrote in the email, adding that the clinic is the first offered by the university for both the COVID-19 vaccine and for influenza.

“Immunizations are critical in the new school year to help us avoid disruptions,” Singler wrote. “There has been an expectation that the flu would be worse this year than in years past, however our county is at a critical stage with covid-19 transmission rates at record levels, so that has been ours. main focus on preventing outbreaks and clusters of cases. “

In more cities and counties across the country, there has been talk of planning flu vaccination events in conjunction with Covid-19 vaccination clinics to help people get vaccinated against both diseases.

Clinics are taking place

“This is a huge area of ​​concern for our Health Departments who remain concerned about the combination of influenza and the pandemic again, and whether we should do influenza and vaccine clinics together to try to get people to protect themselves as much as possible. possible, “said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, to CNN.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics They have said that people can get their flu shots concurrently with the COVID-19 vaccine.

“There is concern about how we are going to be able to cope with the flu season in addition to the pandemic, especially for school-age children,” Freeman said.

“The thing about seasonal flu is, you never know what you’re going to get with flu season. You never know what kind of flu it will be,” Freeman said. “Is it going to be a particularly damaging flu that affects certain populations? The last thing we need is another harsh flu that may impact certain population groups differently, such as the elderly or children.”

To make vaccination comfortable for children, some schools have long served as venues for flu vaccination clinics, and in many schools across the country, the clinics have started to operate, said Linda Mendonca, president of the National Association of School Nurses, to CNN.

“Every year we prepare for the flu season. So the school nurses are dedicated to coordinating the vaccine clinics located in their school communities,” Mendonca said, adding that the joint clinics to administer the influenza vaccines and the covid-19 “make sense.”

“We certainly promote vaccines as a way to decrease the risk of preventable diseases or viruses, such as influenza,” Mendonca said. “The clinics are taking place.”

Still, it is unclear whether the next flu season could be especially harsh, or almost non-existent, like it was last year.

What Flu Season May Bring

“It is well known that influenza is unpredictable. We have some clues as to what to expect each year based on what is happening in the southern hemisphere and what has happened in other countries during the covid-19 pandemic,” he told CNN Dr. Flor Muñoz, specialist in Pediatric Infectious Diseases of the Texas Children’s Hospital.

“I don’t think we were very surprised not seeing flu activity in the past year, because that is exactly what happened in the countries of the southern hemisphere, “said Muñoz.” This year there has still been very little influenza in the southern hemisphere. It has been another mild winter season in the southern hemisphere, where there has not been the typical high flu activity. But what we are seeing in the United States is that there has been some low-level activity since the end of the summer, which is unusual. “

Given that relatively few cases of influenza occurred last year, scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health they have predicted in an article prior to printing that this year there will be a “big payoff” flu season. The work, which has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, was posted on the medrxiv.org server last month.

A model based on previous flu seasons projects in the document that there could be 102,000 additional hospitalizations this coming season due to flu illnesses, which corresponds to a 20% increase compared to the average number of hospitalizations in previous flu seasons. Researchers predict that some people may have decreased immunity due to the low levels of influenza that circulated last year.

“However, greater acceptance of the influenza vaccine would reduce this expected increase in illness,” the researchers write in their article.

This year the situation could be dangerously different

The American College of Emergency Physicians issued a statement Thursday stating that there are “first signs” that the upcoming flu season could be severe and recommending all eligible people to get vaccinated against covid-19 and influenza.

“Last year, more people staying home and covering their faces when they went out kept the flu numbers historically low, but this year the situation could be dangerously different,” Dr. Mark said in the statement. Rosenberg, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

“Unfortunately, misinformation is widespread, and the risk of contracting or spreading either virus increases as more people disregard proven public health protocols,” Rosenberg said. “We should take every precaution to protect ourselves and our loved ones from either virus. Getting vaccinated is one of the best ways to avoid the double whammy of influenza and covid-19.”

In a press release, Dr. David Cennimo, an infectious disease specialist at Rutgers School of Medicine, New Jersey, said in a press release that a “double epidemic” of covid-19 and influenza is “very possible” this year. .

“Based on what we are currently recording for other respiratory infections, such as respiratory syncytial virus, which is making a strong comeback, I anticipate that we will see a resurgence of influenza to above-average levels this year,” Cennimo said in the statement.

“It’s another reason why flu and covid-19 vaccines are so important. Although cases have been rare, they can be contracted simultaneously, which could lead to a much worse condition. From a health point of view “The circulation of both viruses makes diagnosis difficult. If someone is infected with influenza, they will have to be quarantined and tested to rule out covid-19,” he said.

“This highlights how important it is for children under the age of 12, who cannot yet receive the covid-19 vaccine, to receive the influenza vaccine. Vaccinated children are at less risk of contracting the flu, the symptoms of which can be confused with covid-19 and cause possibly unnecessary school quarantines pending a proper diagnosis. “

Doctors recommend getting a flu shot before Halloween

Pediatricians recommend that both adults and children 6 months and older get a flu shot before Halloween, regardless of the flu season.

“It’s already available, so you can get vaccinated from now on and ideally before the end of October whenever possible,” said Muñoz, who authored the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for prevention and control of influenza.

“It is important to have the option to prevent one of the infections that cause pneumonia, similar to covid, especially in young children, because we still do not have the vaccine for covid for that age group,” Muñoz said, adding that for unvaccinated people, there is a potential risk of becoming infected with both flu and coronavirus.

“It seems that co-infection with covid and other respiratory viruses, rhinovirus or respiratory syncytial virus and covid, for example, is common,” Muñoz said. “Having two viruses at the same time puts young children in the hospital because they can develop viral pneumonia or complications from these infections.”