Getting COVID-19 and flu together increases risk of death: Experts
With the world still scrambling to find a vaccine for coronavirus, experts have warned that the impending flu season could make matters worse. UK scientists believe getting both contagious diseases at once drastically increases the chances of death, reports The Guardian. Hence, experts have called on people, especially those at higher risks, to get vaccinated for flu in the upcoming days. Here's more.
In the UK alone, somewhere around 4,000 and 22,000 people die of flu every year. With coronavirus coming into the picture, the threat has multiplied. Professor Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director of Public Health England told the daily, that the last thing one would want is to get flu this year. And just in case someone does get infected, they shouldn't lose sight of self-isolation.
Doyle added, "If you get both, you are in some serious trouble, and the people who are most likely to get both of these infections may be the very people who can least afford to in terms of their own immune system."
The broad symptoms of both flu and coronavirus are similar — the infected person has a fever, cough, faces difficulty breathing, experiences fatigue, sore throat, body aches, and a runny/stuffy nose. However, a large proportion of those who contract coronavirus lose their sense of taste or smell. In such a scenario, only a coronavirus test can be relied upon to judge if someone's infected.
Researchers in the US echoed concerns of their UK counterparts when talking about flu and coronavirus together. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said both flu and coronavirus attack lungs, eventually causing respiratory failure in worst-case scenarios. Dr. Seema Yasmin of the Stanford Health Communication Initiative told CNN that getting infected with respiratory viruses takes a toll on the body's immune system.
On the probable "double-whammy," Dr. Michael Matthay, a professor of medicine and a critical care specialist at the University of California, San Francisco said if one catches both illnesses together, it "would increase the risk of longer-term effects of any of those organ systems." Together, they can cause respiratory failure — which essentially means that the lungs can't give enough oxygen into the blood.
The arguments of UK scientists are backed by facts. In the early phases of the coronavirus pandemic, a study was carried out on 58 people, to understand how these two diseases impact a body. "43% of those with co-infection died compared with 26.9% of those who tested positive for COVID-19 only," said Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England's Deputy Chief Medical Officer.
With a double threat looming, the best way to survive is to get vaccinated for the flu. The UK government has already purchased 30,000,000 doses to save the general population. The doses will arrive in batches and the first ones to get injected will be those above 65 or those having other medical conditions. Younger kids will also be given the doses.
