We just lacked the triplendemia. It is the worst that could happen along this winter season, that is, the simultaneous contraction of three viruses: Covid, influenza and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). And according to American scientists, who have defined the new infectious nightmare as such, the impact could be serious, especially for children not vaccinated against Sars-CoV-2.
The likelihood of being affected is not that rare either. “It is not the most insignificant, and this must be the object of a lot of attention” says Giovanni Maga, director of the National Research Council of Pavia, who warns: “We are entering a period of risk, with possible new variants of the Sars-CoV coronavirus -2 which can cause a new increase in infections and the prediction that the new flu season should have a stronger impact than in the past ».
Triplendemia, never let your guard down
Especially the little ones are at risk, most of whom are not covered by vaccination against Covid, because, explains Maga, “parents underestimate its importance”. However, vaccinating the pediatric age against Covid and influenza as much as possible is necessary – says the director of the CNR – because if “in schools and kindergartens it is easy to get infected”, it has also been demonstrated “already at the beginning of the pandemic that seniors who had been given the flu vaccine had a more protected body against the RSV virus. But I would also advise adults to get vaccinated against flu and Covid »commented Maga. On the other hand, it is impossible to defend oneself from the RSV, for which there are no preventive measures. And even here the category most at risk would be that of children, in which the virus manifests itself in the form of bronchiolitis or bronchial affections. In Europe it causes tens of thousands of cases a year, as well as unfortunately also deaths ”she adds.
WHO: “Yes to both vaccinations”
The invitation to vaccinate against both viruses also comes from the World Health Organization. «With the arrival of autumn and winter, a resurgence of the flu is also foreseeable. In light of this, we reconfirm the need to protect the health of people, especially the most vulnerable, using all available tools, including vaccination “, said in a joint statement the Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides, the regional director of the WHO for Europe, Hans Henri P. Kluge and the director of the ECDC, Andrea Ammon.