A new study found that people who are vaccinated against the flu may be partly protected against some of the severe effects of COVID, and be less likely to need emergency care.
The analysis of nearly 75,000 Covid patients found significant reductions in stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and sepsis, and fewer admissions to emergency departments and intensive care units, among those who had been given the flu jab.
While the flu vaccine did not reduce Covid deaths in the study, previous research suggests the jab may provide some protection against coronavirus by boosting the innate immune system – the body’s general defenses that are not targeted against a particular pathogen.
Another explanation is possible: patients who had the flu vaccine may have been in better general health than those who went without, and while the researchers tried to take this into account, such adjustments are not easy.
