Hungarian virologist: COVID-19 + flu = unpredictable consequences

Many are asking for a flu vaccine, but only healthy people can receive it, even though authorities and healthcare professionals cannot test all the applicants. A healthcare expert said that if the patients do not show symptoms of the coronavirus, they can receive the vaccine. 

According to atv, the Hungarian government decided to provide the vaccine against the flu for free for every Hungarian citizen. Many healthcare professionals already mentioned during the summer that catching the flu or even a cold can be very, very dangerous for those struggling with the coronavirus. Firstly, it is hard to distinguish the symptoms of the two diseases. Furthermore, it is hard to tell how a patient’s body reacts if both viruses are present in it. Ferenc Jakab, a Hungarian virologist, said that there was a significant chance for coinfection, but

nobody knows what the result could be in the case of an already weak immune system.

Mr Jakab highlighted how important it is to keep to all measures introduced to stop the spread of the virus, for example, washing hands and wearing a face mask. He added that we could kill two birds with one stone by taking that advice since the spreading mechanism of the flu and the COVID-19 viruses are similar, so we can avoid both infections. 

Moreover, he said that everybody could take the flu vaccine

to improve their chances. However, currently, only healthy people can receive that in Hungary, but the healthcare system cannot test the applicants. Erzsébet Pusztai, a healthcare professional, added that doing a test does not make sense in every situation.

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That is because somebody who is not a contact person and does not have symptoms could also catch the disease some days before receiving the flu vaccine. After all,

there is a time period during which the tests do not show the coronavirus infection.

Ms Pusztai added that scheduling is very vital in the administration process of the vaccine. Therefore, people should arrive at their doctor’s in time for their appointment and thus avoid crowds in the waiting rooms.

Source: atv.hu