Countermeasures against seasonal influenza under the "COVID ERA"

November 24, 2020

Hokesen Letter, No 213 (English ver.), November 24, 2020.
Health Care Center, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
Yasuhiro Yamauchi, MD, PhD.

It has been reported that COVID-19 infection is coming to re-expand and compared to the second wave that spread in the summer, the risk of becoming more severe in the third wave is higher and the proportion of elderly people is increasing. In addition, the clusters are diversifying, so it is getting too difficult to control and manage. Therefore, the continuous countermeasures against COVID-19 infection are required such as adopting a "new normal lifestyle" and avoiding "3 C’s" in order to protect oneself and the society.

In the coming winter, the temperature will be low and the air will be dry, and droplets will float for a longer period of time, making it easier for the infection range to spread. In addition, it is easy to seal the living space to maintain the indoor temperature due to the cold winter, and the frequency of indoor ventilation decreases, thus viral transmission infection will occur easily, and body condition will get worse, so we have to be careful. Since influenza infections are also prevalent in winter, the possibility of "twindemic" which is pandemic of both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza has been pointed out. Thus, further infection control measures will be required thoroughly.

In the view of the countermeasures against infection, it is important to understand the infection route and its infectivity. First, the main transmission routes of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza are both droplet and contact infection, so performance of basic countermeasures against infection are important, such as wearing a mask, cough etiquette, enforcing hand disinfection, and keeping social distance. In other words, it is effective for all infectious diseases to take thorough measures against infections in a new lifestyle as before. Second, regarding infectivity, seasonal influenza reaches its infectious peak after the onset, but COVID-19 is infectious before the onset, is asymptomatic, and is infectious to others before the person notices it. In other words, there is a possibility that the infection can be suppressed by each person's attention after the outbreak of influenza, but it is difficult to control the infection by responding after the onset of new corona. Therefore, even in the current situation where the third wave is approaching, it is important to take thorough action on a daily basis and to give mutual consideration of preventing transmission to others.

From the perspective of infection prevention, it is important to acquire immunity to infection by getting vaccination. There is no effective vaccination for COVID-19 infection right now. However, the pre-clinical study is on-going, and the effectivity of vaccination is reported to be promising. As you know, vaccination for influenza can be available, so it is recommended to actively consider influenza vaccination to prevent infection and aggravation and to reduce the chances of seeing a medical institution.

It has been announced that the number of influenza patients is still low this year. Reasons for this include the possibility of controlling epidemic by thoroughly controlling infections and the suppression of influenza tests associated with the risk of infection at medical institutions. It is still unclear whether influenza will actually spread at this point, but there is concern that respiratory infections will increase with the arrival of the cold, so if each person thoroughly implements infection control measures, we hope that COVID-19 and influenza will be reduced and controlled.

If you have any questions, please consult Health Care Center, TUFS.

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