Flu vaccine may be linked to coronavirus mortality

According to data based on more than 2,000 counties around the United States, the death rates related to coronavirus were lower in the communities where elderly people received flu vaccines.

Researchers found that an average 10 percent increase in vaccination coverage among people older than 65 was associated with a 28 percent decrease in a given county’s COVID-19 death rate.

Political, economic, and health factors may have led to lower mortality from coronavirus in counties where more seniors have had flu vaccines, the researchers said.

“The significant public health implications of this possibility point to an urgent need for studying the relationship between influenza vaccination and COVID-19 mortality at the individual level, to investigate both the epidemiology and any underlying biological mechanism,” said the researchers.

The U.S Disease Control and Prevention Centers said on Friday that flu vaccination during the pandemic is very important to reduce the overall effect of respiratory diseases on the population and to relieve the pressures on the health care system.