AN official of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID) yesterday strongly urged the elderly to get flu shots to reduce the risk of getting infected with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and pneumonia.
“Flu is a serious threat that can cause fatal complications, most especially the elderly. Flu vaccination, therefore, matters even more during this time of COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Arthur Roman, PSMID treasurer.
“When you get the flu vaccine, you don’t get flu and you don’t develop signs and symptoms that you might confuse with COVID-19. So, the risk of you developing unnecessary anxiety of thinking you have COVID-19 will be removed,” he added.
Roman said getting flu shots will help protect one’s immune system, thereby making him less prone to the coronavirus.
“When you develop any type of infection, such as influenza, your immune system goes down. And when your immune system is low, then opportunistic infection, like COVID-19, may attack you. And when you have COVID-19 infection and you also develop the flu infection, this combination can actually lead to very serious complications,” he said.
Roman also said having flu shots will help one avoid visits to hospitals and medical facilities to consult their physicians.
“We know that our hospitals are already overwhelmed. They are already catering to a lot of COVID-19 cases. By receiving influenza vaccines, the tendency for us to consult doctors, go to ERs (emergency rooms), is also less,” said Roman.
Dr. Eric Tayag, director of the Bureau of Local Health Systems Development of the Department of Health, said there is yet no data on the number of seniors who received flu shots this year.
“We are still gathering that data. But we are certain that it has gone down because of the pandemic and lockdowns,” he said.
Roman and Tayag encouraged medical professionals to ensure their patients will get their immunizations against flu.
Roman said private sector physicians can explore alternative methods in giving flu shots, including home visits by appointment, drive thru-like methods of giving flu shots outside hospitals, and setting aside a day that will cater exclusively to elderly seeking flu shots.
“We have to make innovations because having the pandemic doesn’t mean we have to stop giving our other necessary services, such as immunization,” said Roman.
Tayag said local health workers can adopt the DOH campaign to provide oral polio vaccine to children.
“If we can do it with polio, it will be an easy task to do for flu vaccines because our immunization program is well established,” said Tayag.
