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Health Check: Could the flu vaccine protect against severe Covid-19?

Magazines & Reviews

Vaccine bottles in a row

2021/07/21 GMT

Could the flu vaccine protect against severe Covid-19?

BBC World Service - Health Check, Could the flu vaccine protect against severe Covid-19?

Assessing the evidence: Can the flu vaccine ameliorate the effects of covid-19?

Flu vaccine protection against Covid-19; Covid vaccination for Downs Syndrome; Winter viruses in summer.

A really intriguing finding on flu vaccines - that they might offer some protection not just against flu, but against the most serious effects of Covid-19 – even though it is of course a completely different virus. Claudia Hammond talks to Dr Devinder Singh who led the research using anonymous medical records from countries including Singapore, Germany, Italy and Israel, which medical researchers can use.

Summer viruses
And why are some countries in the middle of the summertime, seeing a surge of infections with  viruses usually found in winter?  In the northern hemisphere there are fears that we’ll see a surge of cases of flu next winter – a twindemic. Why is that?  And is this something that will follow the seasons around the world?  We hear from Lorna and her daughter Willow on Willow’s persistent cough and from Dr Michelle Jacobs who’s a consultant in paediatric and adult emergency medicine at Watford General Hospital in the UK on concerns of RSV and viral wheeze, and Tracy Hussell, professor in immunology at the University of Manchester on children’s long-term immunity especially for babies who are seeing all these infections for the first time.

Downs Syndrome and Covid-19
There’s new research just published in the British Medical Journal looking at how both adults and children with Downs Syndrome have been affected if they contract Covid. Some countries such as India are prioritising vaccination against Covid-19 for adults with Downs Syndrome.  University College London’s Professor Monica Lakhanpaul’s work has been instrumental in helping clinics to start vaccinating people in India.  And in the UK it’s just been announced that children with Downs Syndrome will be able to get vaccinated, which isn’t the case for all children. Monica explains the relevance of the research and her work in highlighting the issue.


Image: Vaccine bottles in a row
Credit: Helder Faria/Getty Images

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Erika Wright

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