With the record of an outbreak of flu in Rio de Janeiro and the lack of vaccines against H3N2 Influenza, it is necessary for the authorities to act in order to prevent a “simultaneous outbreak of Covid and flu”, said Marcelo Gomes, coordinator of InfoGripe , a group from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, to CNN this Tuesday (7).
“The flu is not as serious as Covid, […] but if we make it easier to get to such a scenario [de surtos simultâneos], this could end up impacting the need for hospital beds”, declared Marcelo Gomes during the interview.
Even with the lower severity in relation to Covid, Gomes highlights that the flu also has the potential to generate aggravations that lead to hospitalization and result in deaths. Those most affected by the disease are young children and the elderly, he pointed out.
“When the flu develops into a serious condition for hospitalization, around 12 to 15% of all people who are hospitalized unfortunately end up dying”, says the researcher.
In the last three weeks, at least four cities in Rio de Janeiro have registered an increase in cases of flu-like illness, according to a survey carried out by CNN. In the capital of Rio de Janeiro, 21 thousand people were diagnosed with H3N2 influenza during this period.
According to Gomes, the outbreak of Influenza is still concentrated in the state, with a momentary predominance of mild cases, resolved in regular outpatient care. The first signs of hospitalization for flu appeared in young adults, said the researcher, but the data is still being evaluated.
In the meantime, moving forward with vaccination and not curbing even more measures such as the use of masks, for Marcelo Gomes, are necessary actions at this time.
“The mask works wonderfully for the flu too. We let our guard down a lot, facilitating the reappearance of other respiratory viruses”, he highlighted, also stating that the flu ended up being “naturalized” during the Covid-19 pandemic – since the priorities were different.
However, Gomes points out that possible “communication noise” in recent times about the effectiveness of vaccines may also have negatively influenced the rate of people who sought the immunizing agent against Influenza.
“We cannot fall into the traps of small noisy groups. Vaccines are safe and work very well to prevent serious cases,” he said.
“It is important to restore the feeling of trust and adherence to the vaccination campaigns, and take advantage of the fact that Brazil has happily chosen that the entire population finance free access to vaccines”, added the researcher from InfoGripe.
Reference: CNN Brasil
