Influenza and COVID-19: confusion over vaccines near annual flu season

Peninsula 360 Press

That season has arrived when many of us begin to suffer havoc from climate changes and seasonal illnesses, such is the case of influenza and, with COVID-19 still circulating around the world, it is understandable that doubts arise about how to differentiate between the two. diseases, how to fight them and how important are vaccines to reduce risks.

“Now that these cold times are coming and the climate is changing, it is when they most suggest that you get the influenza vaccine and I think that is very good. We know that in this world people have totally different opinions and not everyone agrees with vaccines as in the case of COVID”, Carmen comments.

Doubts can be increased by the spread of false news or myths about vaccines. In this sense, vaccination against influenza during December 2022 faces not only logistical challenges but also the resistance of a part of the population to receive treatment.

One of the unforeseen consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic is the establishment of anti-vaccine networks. We must remember that the anti-vaccine movement is considered one of the main threats to global health.

The coronavirus pandemic allowed, through the use of social digital networks, the constitution of huge transnational communities that can spread disinformation almost instantly.

What is the most widespread misinformation about the flu vaccine? The Peninsula 360 team identified some of the rumors spread on social networks and we went out into the streets to compare these rumors with the ordinary population.

We found that people repeat the myths previously found in COVID misinformation reports with those about influenza.

Karen Duarte, a resident of North Fair Oaks and a volunteer at a community center, tells us that "there is a lot of information out there that is not true" in which it is said that the vaccine "makes you feel bad"; Duarte recounts in an interview that there is a belief that there is a supposed association between vaccination and other effects on the body such as "it gives you paralysis or something like that," he explains.

One of the myths identified in the data analysis on Twitter was the idea that there is no difference between Covid-19 and the flu from influenza.

“It is like with the COVID vaccine. There are people who do not like to participate in these things or prefer to think that "we are healthy, we are not going to get sick." Above all, I have heard that, over time, a person can have an adverse reaction to the vaccine. Can they get sick or develop another type of disease? the same things that they mentioned during the COVID pandemic, ”says Carmen.

Another myth that we identified both on social networks and mentioned by people on the streets was the false idea that vaccination against the common cold weakens the body, predisposing it to present a disease such as covid or something more severe. The supposed reasoning behind these assertions is that vaccination is a way of weakening the population to increase mortality and control its size. However, objective evidence shows that influenza vaccination decreases illness and associated deaths.

I have heard good and bad things. The bad thing is because they give you the virus and with that you can die easier, "says Juan Piril, "above all I have heard that those who die the most are the elderly, eighty or ninety years old."

The WHO, for its part, maintains that vaccination against influenza contributes to improving the quality of life of the population and significantly reduces the number of deaths from this disease.

Another myth identified among the population that is spread as supposedly medical information indicates that "vaccines are interchangeable", this indicates that if one gets the COVID vaccine, for example, they will be protected against influenza and vice versa, by getting vaccinated against influenza one will be protected against COVID. For this, the similarity between the symptoms and the apparent equivalence between the detection tests for COVID-19 or influenza are mentioned.

Both influenza? or flu? such as COVID-19 are contagious respiratory diseases, but are caused by different viruses. COVID-19 is caused by infection with a coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which was first detected in 2019, while influenza is caused by infection with a virus similarly called influenza.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as far as is known, COVID-19 spreads more easily than influenza. It should be noted that "it is not possible to differentiate influenza from COVID-19 just by looking at the symptoms," because some of the signs and symptoms are the same for the two diseases.

Efforts to maximize the proportion of people in the United States who are up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccination schedule remain critical to reducing the risk of severe disease and death.

“In some people, COVID-19 can cause more serious illness than the flu. In relation to people with influenza, the symptoms of people infected with COVID-19 may take longer to appear and may be contagious for longer periods, “explains the national health agency.

Given this, it is necessary to carry out specific detection tests to find out what disease it is and confirm a diagnosis, and thus receive adequate treatment for the virus that is present quickly and effectively.

It is important to know that screening tests can also tell if a person has influenza and COVID-19 at the same time, although the situation is rare. People who have the flu and COVID-19 at the same time can get more seriously ill than people who have just the flu or just COVID-19.

While health authorities learn new things about COVID-19 every day, here are some common symptoms it shares with influenza:

Both COVID-19 and the flu can spread from person to person through close contact. Both diseases are spread mainly through large and small particles containing the virus that are expelled when people with these conditions cough, sneeze or talk.

Finally, another identified myth stated that the influenza vaccine supposedly contains graphene oxide. A substance that certain anti-vaccine groups allege will allow the government to control you. A second version alleges that graphene will keep the "vaccinated" sick and therefore pharmaceutical companies will obtain benefits from the sale of medicines.

Contrary to this, the WHO, pharmaceutical companies and researchers have denied the presence of graphene in any of the influenza vaccines.

Despite the fact that 92.6 percent of the eligible population in San Mateo County has been vaccinated against COVID-19, misinformation and fears among the Latino community continue around this vaccine, as well as the flu vaccine.

For Maria Segovia, a participant in the Peninsula 360 Press [P360P] community journalism workshop and resident of Redwood City, COVID vaccine myths continue to circulate just as strongly on social networks, especially Facebook and Instagram.

Among the main myths that still exist in the Latino community are: vaccines contain control chips, cause infertility, modify genetic material, make people sicker, include dangerous ingredients or are made from dead human fetuses, contain magnetite, cause abortions.

Vaccines: the path to disease control

It is true, there are still many people who are reluctant to trust and believe in the effectiveness of vaccines. The fears and myths around them, especially the recent ones such as the flu and, even more so, the one against COVID-19, are still valid, especially among communities such as Latinos.

Vaccines against COVID-19 and influenza are approved or authorized for emergency use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration ?FDA, for its acronym in English? and by the CDC itself.

There are different FDA-approved flu vaccines that are produced each year to protect against the four flu viruses that scientists predict will be the most widely circulated.

Influenza vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination. These antibodies offer protection against influenza.

Seasonal flu vaccines are designed to protect against flu viruses, which studies show will have more circulation in the upcoming season. All flu vaccines available in the United States are "quadrivalent" vaccines, meaning they protect against four different flu viruses: an influenza A(H1N1) virus, an influenza A(H3N2) virus, and two influenza B viruses.

COVID-19

There are different vaccines against COVID-19 authorized or approved for use in the country for the prevention of the disease. And the CDC recommends these from the age of 6 months and up.

Updated or bivalent booster doses became available on September 2, 2022.

The CDC recommends that everyone stay up-to-date with the COVID-19 vaccines for their age group:

Getting vaccinated against COVID-19, as well as boosters, after recovering from COVID-19 infection gives you additional protection against the disease.

There are four approved or licensed COVID-19 vaccines in the United States: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Novavax, and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, however the CDC recommends that the latter only be considered in certain situations, due to safety concerns. security.

With information from the CDC and FDA.

You may be interested in: Chips or infertility, COVID-19 vaccine myths still alive among Redwood City Latino community