Influenza vax may provide roadmap to prevent Covid-19: Study

Seasonal influenza vaccine development and mass production may lead to future efforts targeted at developing and evaluating vaccine strategies for Covid19 say researchersIn the study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology the research team evaluated whether existing flu trial networks could offer primary and secondary prevention strategies for patients with cardiovascular disease at risk of complications from Covid19The World Health Organisation WHO estimates that influenza kills as many as 650000 people every year globally citing influenza as a top 10 leading cause of death among people of all ages especially those with one or more comorbidities like cardiovascular diseaseFurthermore seasonal influenza epidemics have been associated with populationlevel increases in cardiovascular hospitalisation and mortalityFor these reasons clinical guidelines recommend the general population receive their flu vaccination annually to reduce the risk of influenzalike illness with highrisk individuals the most urged to get vaccinatedResearch has shown that viral respiratory infections such as seasonal influenza and Covid19 are risk factors for cardiovascular diseasePatients with cardiovascular disease are also at a higher risk of complications following viral respiratory infections including increased morbidity mortality and health care utilizationCurrent data suggests influenza infection and the novel coronavirus share similar symptoms at the outset primarily fever cough and shortness of breath However Covid19 appears to be more contagious than the fluAlthough Covid19 and other respiratory virus infections are associated with acute myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular events influenza has the best evidence of a safe vaccine option for cardiovascular risk reduction to date said study author Jacob A Udell from the University of Toronto in CanadaSeveral observational and small randomized studies have suggested that influenza vaccination may serve as a preventative measure against adverse cardiovascular outcomesHowever despite international guidelines recommending routine influenza and pneumococcal vaccination for patients with cardiovascular disease uptake is substantially lacking and often deprioritised including at the time of cardiovascular hospitalisationThere are currently three international cardiovascular outcome trials examining the cardioprotective effects of different influenza vaccine formulations according to the teamThree large ongoing influenza vaccine cardiovascular outcome trials have an opportunity to contribute further to our understanding of the underlying comorbidities in these patients that may be driving morbidity and mortality associated with Covid19 infection Udell saidWhile developing new vaccines we will also definitively learn soon whether influenza vaccination is an effective lowcost widely available therapy that reduces cardiovascular risk which may further help prevent fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular complications of Covid19 Udell notedKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever