Flu Vaccine Mismatch Raises Further Concerns About ‘Twindemic’ With Covid-19

Right here’s one more reason to keep up face masks sporting, social distancing, and different Covid-19 precautions all through the following few months. It’s that previous nemesis, the flu. This yr’s flu vaccine might not be a superb match for the primary influenza pressure that’s now circulating, and flu exercise all through the U.S. has been rising over the previous week:

All of this raises issues {that a} “twindemic” might quickly be occurring. On this case, a “twindemic” will not be a surge in Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsens, Dylan and Cole Sprouses, or these twins within the film The Shining who stated, “Come and play with us.” As an alternative, it will be the concurrent prevalence of the continued Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic together with a brand new seasonal influenza epidemic.

So, what might occur with such a twindemic? Let’s see. Think about an increasing number of and extra individuals going to well being clinics and hospitals due to Covid-19, which is type of what’s occurring now:

Subsequent, add to that a rise in of us requiring well being care due to the flu, which can be occurring already:

Then, take into account the truth that many well being care professionals across the nation have been feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, unsupported, and underappreciated by their employers, workplaces, and society. For instance:

If the well being care system reaches its breaking level, that’s when issues actually begin to multiply. When hospitals “run out of beds,” it’s not likely beds which might be the priority. A mattress doesn’t ask you ways you feel, resolve what remedies you need to obtain, and care for you. It’s well being care professionals. And when they’re too overtaxed to care for everybody, sufferers with Covid-19 or influenza received’t be the one ones to undergo. These with different main and life-threatening situations resembling coronary heart illness and most cancers can undergo as properly.

Oh, and to high all of it off, this yr’s flu vaccine might supply some safety in opposition to influenza however not as a lot because it has in different years. Check out a pre-print posted on MedRxiv that described a examine carried out by researchers from the College of Pennsylvania Perelman Faculty of Drugs, Scripps Analysis Institute, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Faculty of Public Well being. The senior writer of the examine, Scott E. Hensley, PhD, Professor of Microbiology on the College of Pennsylvania, described the examine’s findings within the following tweet thread:

Hensley refers to a mismatch between the flu virus pressure on this yr’s flu vaccine and the H3N2 pressure of influenza that’s at the moment circulating. Every year prematurely of the flu season, specialists attempt to predict primarily based on obtainable proof what strains of influenza can be circulating afterward through the flu season. This may be fairly a guessing sport, kind of like attempting to guess which TikTok fad will go viral. Some years, the specialists get it proper and there’s a superb match between the strains within the vaccine and people who find yourself circulating. Different years, they miss the mark by a bit and even by lots. This yr they might have missed the mark by a good quantity. As you possibly can see within the tweet thread, the examine discovered variations within the hemagglutinin (HA) protein that’s on the floor of the circulating H3N2 influenza pressure from the HA protein that’s on the floor of the pressure within the vaccine:

Furthermore, their lab experiments discovered that the antibodies generated by the flu vaccine don’t appear to neutralize the circulating model of the H3N2 flu virus very properly:

Thus, this yr’s flu shot could also be a bit like a small thong (versus an infinite thong). It’s actually higher than nothing and may give you some safety. However it may depart you continue to fairly uncovered.

After all, take something stated by a pre-print with thong-full of salt. A pre-print will not be the identical as a peer-reviewed publication in a good scientific journal.

Nonetheless, this examine is a reminder that you simply shouldn’t solely depend on vaccination in opposition to the flu for defense, identical to you shouldn’t rely solely on underwear when on a job interview or anyplace else in public. It’s higher to be vaccinated than not. However vaccination won’t ever give you 100% safety.

That’s why sustaining different precautions resembling face masks sporting and social distancing over the following a number of can be crucial. This could gradual the unfold of not solely the extreme acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants however totally different variations of the influenza virus.

Some individuals have continued to falsely declare that Covid-19 is similar factor because the flu. Such claims have sadly been losing the time of many public well being specialists and officers:

A side-by-side comparability will present that Covid-19 can produce very totally different issues and has had a considerably larger case fatality fee:

The priority is that really seeing the flu and Covid-19 side-by-side this Winter might result in greater than twice the difficulty.