Study claims people who got a bullet from flu last season were not as bad as Covid-19

The results of a new study show that people, who got a flu shot in the last flu season, were significantly more likely to test positive for Covid-19 when the pandemic struck. Those who did a good test had fewer problems than those who did not get the flu shot.

These new findings mean senior author Marion Hofmann Bowman, MD, continues to recommend the flu shot to her patients even as the flu season could great to come to an end.

“It is particularly relevant for vaccine delay, and perhaps if he catches the flu this year if he could worry a little about the new Covid-19 vaccine,” said Hofmann, a co-professor related to internal medicine and cardiologist at the Frank Medicine Center of Michigan Medicine. Michigan Medicine is the academic medical center of the University of Michigan.

Researchers reviewed medical records for more than 27,000 patients diagnosed with Covid-19 disease at Michigan Medicine between March and mid-July 2020. Of the nearly 13,000 who had contracted flu flu in the previous year, four per cent were positive for Covid -19. Of the 14,000 who did not get a flu shot, nearly five percent were positive for Covid-19. Society remained important after controlling for other variables including ethnicity, race, gender, age, BMI, smoking status and many comorbid conditions, Hofmann says.

People who received the flu shot were significantly more likely to need hospitalization, although the researchers found no significant difference in mortality between the two groups. No one in the study tested positive for both diseases at the same time.

The basic mechanism behind the association is not yet clear, Hofmann says.

“It is possible that patients who receive their flu vaccine are also people who use more social distance and follow CDC guidelines. However, it is also plausible that the direct biological effects of the flu vaccine may have on the immune system relevant to the fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, “she says.

Longitudinal studies are planned to investigate the impact of the flu vaccine on respiratory disease, including the Flu Vaccine Assessment (HIVE) study through the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

“It is powerful to give providers another tool to motivate their patients to take advantage of the vaccine that is available, effective, safe,” said co-author Carmel Ashur, MD, MS, senior assistant professor of inpatient and hospital medicine at Michigan Medicine.

Months ago, Hofmann was concerned about misinformation she kept seeing online linking the flu vaccine to Covid-19 infection.

“Instead of a worrying link between Covid-19 and the flu shot, our release gives more confidence that getting your flu is linked to staying out of hospital for Covid-19 , “she says.

Before the pandemic struck, Hofmann and co – author Anna Conlon, PhD, a UM School of Medicine student, educated Frankel CVC patients about another stimulating link with the flu vaccine: cardiovascular protective effects.

“There is strong data that the flu shot prevents heart attack and hospitalization for heart failure, which is an additional reason to get your vaccine every flu season,” Conlon says.

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This story was published from a wire group group with no text changes. Only the headline has changed.