Rio Grande do Norte has one of the worst rates of adherence to the flu vaccination campaign this year, with 53% of the target population vaccinated since the beginning of the campaign in April. According to data from the State Department of Public Health (Sesap/RN), at least 1,295,751 people should receive the vaccine against the influenza virus in the state, but 692,511 had been vaccinated as of this Friday (16/07), according to the department. The medical preceptor in Infectology at the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), Carolina Damásio Santos, draws attention to the risk of the flu evolving into a more serious disease due to the lack of immunization.

“We are all so worried about COVID-19 that we are forgetting about diseases that already exist and that have been experiencing peaks in cases over the years. COVID-19 is talked about so much that we are forgetting about other things that need to be prevented. We are in the winter months, when we have the seasonality of the influenza virus, which is the flu virus. It can also cause serious respiratory disease, especially in groups with comorbidities,” warns Carolina Damásio Santos, an infectious disease specialist at ISD, linked to the Ministry of Education (MEC).

Due to low demand during the vaccination campaign launched nationwide in April of this year, the Ministry of Health extended the deadline for immunization against the flu for an indefinite period for all age groups. Today, anyone over six months of age can receive the drug, administered at Basic Health Units (UBS) in Brazilian municipalities. The doses will be made available while supplies last, and the goal established by the Ministry of Health is to vaccinate 90% of the target population, estimated at 79.7 million people.

According to Katiuscia Rosely, a nurse at the State Immunization Program of Sesap/RN, the low adherence to the flu vaccination campaign in the state is noteworthy. “I have been working in the Immunization Program since 2017 and I have never seen a situation like this. Last year, we reached 96% of the target population. Today, we only have 53% and we urge people to get vaccinated against the flu, especially those in risk groups for the disease,” warns the manager. 

Protection against covid-19

The scientific article entitled “Impact of the influenza vaccine on COVID-19 infection rates and severity” published in the American Journal of Infection Control (www.ajicjournal.org), in February of this year, reveals that scientists analyzed 27 thousand patients who received laboratory tests for covid-19. 

Among those who have taken the flu vaccine, the risk of infection by the new coronavirus is lower compared to those who have not been immunized against influenza. In addition, among patients who tested positive even with the flu vaccine up to date, the chances of developing more severe symptoms of COVID-19, requiring hospitalization and mechanical ventilation, for example, are lower.

The five scientists who signed the publication concluded that “influenza vaccination is associated with a reduction in positive testing for covid-19, in addition to better clinical results, and should be promoted to reduce the burden of covid-19”.

“Another positive point for getting vaccinated against the flu at this time in Brazil. Since we do not have enough vaccines against COVID-19, many people have only had the first dose, being vaccinated against the flu, in addition to protecting against the influenza virus, could also increase our immunity against COVID-19,” highlights infectologist Carolina Damásio Santos.

She reminds us that the time between the flu and COVID-19 vaccines must be at least 14 days apart. “The influenza vaccine does not contain a live virus. Therefore, we will not get the flu if we take this vaccine. Side effects may occur, but they last less than 24 hours and occur to a much lesser extent than with the COVID vaccine,” adds Carolina Damásio Santos.

For those who have not yet received the flu vaccine, she has a warning. “Try to get the vaccine as soon as possible. We are in the winter months, with influenza circulating, and we have been diagnosing cases of flu in emergency rooms, with some patients with pneumonia. We have the flu vaccine available, we are in the middle of a pandemic, and we need to increase our immunity. The flu can evolve and lead to hospitalization of asthmatic adults and children and to death in patients who have risk factors,” says the ISD preceptor. 

Deaths 

In Rio Grande do Norte, from January 1st to this Friday (July 16th), at least 1,963 people died from diseases related to the respiratory system, 590 from respiratory failure, 1,267 from pneumonia and 106 from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The data is from the Civil Registry Transparency portal of the National Association of Natural Persons Registrars (ARPEN Brazil).