Camelia Bhattacharyya, Amity University Kolkata
Amidst the pandemic prevailing recently due to the SARS-CoV-2, there is something which still can’t be ignored, the flu which leads to thousands of deaths in the US and infects about 11% of the population each year according to CDC. With the arrival of the flu along with the COVID-19, people have been utterly disappointed and worried. Thus, Los Angeles has come up with a plan and is now giving free flu shots (for all age groups) to the residents at the L.A. County libraries.
According to WHO, influenza kills over 65 thousand people globally? Well, researchers have found a way to deal with this along with the SARS-CoV strains. The influenza vaccine has proven to be a safe option to deal with the coronaviruses until the vaccine for the corona comes into play. Though the SARS-CoV-2 causes and sometimes strengthens the cardiovascular problems in infected patients, the influenza vaccine works without any side-effects to the myocardium and the rest of the cardiovascular system. Thus, people can now be immunized against influenza and COVID-19 altogether.
Though few first world countries are handling the issue with great efforts and management skills, few are still at a risk. More than the coronavirus, people seem to die of other infections that have been ignored for a long time after the dawn of the pandemic. Northern Ireland is one such place that has failed to provide the flu vaccine to the elderly (50 years and more) and also is recently going through issues with the health system and the staff.
All these teach us for sure that though the recent hype caused by the virus is important, but that should never be the cause of negligence of other health issues which cause even higher death rates and complications.
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