The flu epidemic has been raging in this country since mid-December. According to the current weekly report from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), flu is the culprit for one in five people (21 percent) who are struggling with a respiratory illness. Influenza has now even dethroned Corona as the most common respiratory infection.
But what is the situation in general practitioner practices – especially after the holidays and the holiday-related closures?
How the flu infection situation developed after the holidays
“In the period around the turn of the year there was a slight decrease in cases of respiratory infections – which is typical for this period, which is accompanied by the reduction in contact over the school holidays and public holidays,” says Markus Beier, Federal Chairman of the Association of General Practitioners, when asked by FOCUS online.
However, this does not mean that the situation will ease. “Our practices have been busy again for weeks due to a very high volume of patients,” says Beier. The extent to which the flu wave will reach and whether its peak is yet to come cannot yet be predicted. As the general practitioner says, the coming weeks will shed light on this.
“Patients often mistakenly imagine the flu as a cold.”
At the same time, he warns against underestimating the risks of the flu. “Patients often mistakenly imagine the flu as a cold with slightly more severe symptoms. Anyone who has ever had the flu knows how stressful the infection can be for the entire body,” says Beier.
In particular, people aged 60 and over and with an underlying illness are at higher risk of serious flu illnesses due to their weakening or already weakened immune systems. This also applies to pregnant women from the second trimester onwards and people who have a higher risk of infection due to their many contacts at work.
Influenza vaccination is the “most important protective measure”
These risk groups could best ward off severe cases with a vaccination. This is the “most important protective measure,” says the family doctor. The best time to get vaccinated against influenza is from the beginning of October to mid-December – and therefore already missed.
“However, if you have missed this period, you can and should get the vaccination as quickly as possible, especially as a high-risk patient,” says Beier. His urgent appeal, especially to the risk groups:
Not even every second person over 60 is vaccinated against flu
So far, no crowds have followed this call: According to the RKI, only 43 percent of people over 60 years of age in Germany have been vaccinated against influenza (as of the 2021/2022 flu season). In Denmark, however, it is 78 percent.
“We family doctors explain the risks of infection and vaccination at every possible opportunity in our practices, but that alone is not enough,” says the doctor. He calls for increased public education that raises people’s awareness of the flu and encourages them to get vaccinated in a timely manner.
“It cannot be the solution that more and more actors get involved in the vaccinations. We know this from other contexts: If everyone bears responsibility, in the end no one bears it,” says Beier.
General practitioner explains what could increase vaccination rates
It is therefore better that responsibility for this is concentrated in the family doctor’s practice. The best proof of this is family doctor-centered care (HZV).
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, this is care that statutory health insurance companies must offer to their insured persons. The health insurance companies conclude contracts with general practitioner associations for this purpose. Patients who would like to take advantage of this care then undertake to their health insurance company to choose one of the contractually participating family doctors and to always go to them.
From Beier’s point of view, this type of care is very advantageous: “Studies have shown that vaccination rates in the HZV are significantly higher than the rates for standard care.” The vaccination rate increased by ten percent in the observation period from 2015 to 2022. In addition, more people had been vaccinated against influenza.
General practitioners’ association hopes for combined vaccination for corona and flu
“Another important step that we have been insisting on for a long time would be a combination vaccine against influenza and Covid-19,” says the federal chairman. This would be appropriate because the recommendations of the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) are almost identical for both vaccinations anyway. The general practitioner association hopes that these will be made available soon.