“It’s just a flu.” It was the most used and abused phrase, in one sense or another, during the various phases of Covid and, in some way, from a scientific point of view, speaking with the language of specialists, it was right as well. But, of course, it is that “only”, the problem, because it was an element used by deniers, No Vax, No Mask, No Pass (who later became pro-Russian, but that’s another story) to contest the danger of Covid. Instead, the story must be completely overturned: that is, Covid was dangerous not because it was “just a flu”, but precisely because it was an influence.
Influenza at the time of Covid
And from here we have to start again, because – always – winter brings seasonal flu, sometimes very heavy and, paradoxically but not too much, winters 2020 and 2021, marked by the Covid drama, were less heavy for the flu seasonal, also and above all thanks to the use of masks, which obviously do not ask themselves what is the virus they block, if SARS-COV 19 or others, but they just block them. And the other precautions, avoiding gatherings, distancing, obviously the closures (although harmful from other points of view), constant washing of hands and surroundings, have helped to limit the influence. All circumstances that the (blessed) return to normalcy and the “calculated risk” of Mario Draghi’s government, combined with the success of the vaccination campaign coordinated by General Figliuolo, compared to the previous one, have obviously decreased and weakened in an anti-influenza key.
The gradual farewell to masks, first in the open, then indoors, in schools and finally on public transport has obviously done away with this unprecedented protection that had limited seasonal flu and its various strains in the last two seasons.
The importance of the flu shot
And here comes the decisive importance of the flu vaccination, completely compatible with the fourth dose of the anti-Covid dose for the over 65s and categories at risk. To explain all this, there are various specialists who deal with both, starting with Giancarlo Icardi, director of the Hygiene Complex Operating Unit of the San Martino Polyclinic in Genoa, the largest hospital in Europe: “It should be noted that the real impact of the flu is generally underestimated. The flu not only causes simple respiratory symptoms, but can also cause complications, for example related to the cardiovascular system and, remember, that being vaccinated against Covid19 does not involve coverage from the flu. So also for this reason it is very important to get vaccinated every year, because the virus changes and it is important to protect yourself with the updated one “.
The categories at risk
Concepts reaffirmed by Angelo Gratarola, appointed a few days ago as councilor for health of the Liguria Region, in place of Giovanni Toti who held the position as president of the Region until the end of the emergency precisely to manage the problems related to the pandemic in person. Gratarola is a pure technician, responsible for the Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit of the San Martino Polyclinic, but also as coordinator of the regional inter-company department of Alisa’s urgent emergency, that is, all the ER and resuscitation departments of the Ligurian hospitals, which do head to the Alisa health agency, a sort of control room for all the local health authorities and hospitals. In short, it is a testimony that comes directly from the front line, that of Gratarola: “We are coming out of the very complex period of the pandemic in which the turning point was undoubtedly the anti-Covid vaccination. Now, alongside the fourth dose capable of boosting the immune system towards an infection that is under control but not yet extinguished, it is necessary to add the flu vaccination. After two years of isolation and wearing masks, the circulation of the flu virus could experience a significant increase this year. This is why vaccination against the flu becomes more important in particular for the elderly, the frail and those with chronic diseases, for whom it can take particularly serious forms. This is why we will raise awareness among citizens and in particular the groups most at risk “.
Data from the Liguria Region
It is useless to hide it: in some way the Covid tragedy has caused attention to decrease compared to “normal” flu and therefore the effort of institutions and public health will have to be double, even simply to return to the “usual” levels of vaccination coverage . And here, in some way, the Ligurian data can be interesting, because we are talking about the Region with the largest number of elderly people, therefore potentially at risk: “Liguria – explains Giovanni Battista Andreoli, director of the Prevention Department of the regional health agency Alisa- it has acquired in time the sufficient number of doses that amply cover the needs: 440,000 doses of the flu vaccine. We hope that a significant and increasing vaccination coverage target compared to recent years will be reached, with active involvement by health personnel, since, after two years of low circulation of the flu virus, this year the population is to be considered particularly susceptible. “. And, even considering that health federalism ensures that each Region can independently manage the free vaccines for one group or the other, it is very interesting to see which are the categories that can have the anti-flu for free, because it is a plastic image of those for whom it is most useful, if not essential.
The indications of the Ministry of Health
And, above all, the indications of the Ministry of Health are basically the same for everyone. Therefore: “subjects aged 60 or over; children aged between 6 months and 6 years; children and adolescents on long-term treatment with acetylsalicylic acid; pregnant women and in the postpartum period; individuals of any age admitted to long-term care facilities; doctors and health care personnel; family members and contacts of high-risk individuals; subjects involved in public services of primary collective interest and categories of workers; personnel who, for work reasons, are in contact with animals that could be a source of infection with non-human influenza viruses; blood donors; subjects from 6 months to 65 years of age suffering from diseases that increase the risk of complications from influenza: pediatric subjects suffering from chronic disease; pediatric subjects cohabiting or close contacts with subjects at risk due to status or pathology “. In addition, it is possible to have the anti-pneumococcal vaccination with conjugate preparation starting from 65 years of age and at the time of the flu vaccination for all subjects aged between 66 and 75 years not previously vaccinated “.
What the experts say
And all this obviously adds up to the fourth anti-Covid dose, the reservations of which in fact proceed at the same time and, from this point of view, “Prenoto vaccino”, the Ligurian platform of Liguria Digitale, managed by the best IT manager in Italy, Enrico Castanini, it worked very well, unlike those of many other regions, even much larger and more noble, self-styled “locomotives”, which had to contact the Italian Post Office to get out of it well.
And the anti-Covid vaccines are the last piece of this story. Last night at “Che tempo che fa” Roberto Burioni explained to Fabio Fazio that he was there, despite the Covid of the previous week, precisely because he took the fourth dose and Matteo Bassetti adds: “It seems that now it is more convenient to say` I don’t I was there, I was not among those who pushed for vaccination´. I think they are cowards. I would do everything I have done again, I am proud of what science and we doctors have done for our country and I am sure that the vast majority of Italians are happy to be vaccinated, just as I am just as sure that with the right recommendations and the right organization will also make a fourth dose. Vaccines have led to the endemization of the virus, and if we didn’t have them we wouldn’t be where we are today. So beware of this sentiment that is emerging from some part of the population. There is nothing good ”. Here, the risk is that the one feared by Matteo Bassetti is the next virus.