Not only Covid autumn and winter 2022/23 it could be what American scientists have called “triplendemia“. Three viruses are in fact present at the same time: the coronavirus Sars-Cov-2, influenza and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). According to what was reported in Repubblica, the impact of this hat-trick could be dangerous.
Get infected with all three
Giovanni Maga, director of the CNR, National Research Council, of Pavia, explained that “the likelihood of potentially contracting the three diseases, ie Covid, influenza and RSV, is not the most insignificant, and this must be the object of a lot of attention “. According to Maga “we are entering a period of riskwith possible new variants of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus that can cause a new increase in infections “and” the prediction that the new flu season should have a stronger impact than in the past “.
Risk categories
“Babies are not vaccinated against Sars-CoV-2, and they are little against the flu, although the vaccine in the latter case is available (it can be done from 6 months) and recommended especially for children because in schools and kindergartens it is easy to get infected. But the response to vaccination is not often high because parents underestimate its importance, ”Maga explained. As for the Rsvinstead, “there are no preventive measures, ie vaccines, to combat it. RSV mainly affects children and causes bronchiolitis or bronchial diseases in children. In Europe it causes tens of thousands of cases a year, as well as unfortunately also deaths ”, Maga explained.
The double vaccine
The vaccine, Maga reiterated, is the key to prevention. “We extend the vaccination campaign as much as possible to the pediatric age, both against Covid and against flu. Because already at the beginning of the pandemic it was seen that the elderly who had been given the flu vaccine had an organism that was more protected against the RSV virus. But also. I would advise adults to get vaccinated against flu and Covid“, he has declared.
WHO’s invitation: “Get both vaccines”
An invitation, that to vaccinate against both viruses, also promoted by the World Health Organization. “With the arrival of autumn and winter, a resurgence of influenza 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. . Preparation measures must continue in the European Region, we must not let our guard down “, wrote in a joint statement the Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides, the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Henri P. Kluge and the director of the ECDC, Andrea Ammon.