Virus expert Professor Reichl draws two scenarios: Either the flu wave will be weak again in 2021/2022 - or stronger than a year ago.
Last year the flu wave more or less dropped out. Surgical masks, hygiene measures and distance regulations had meant that influenza viruses could not spread rapidly. But how will the flu season 2021/22 go? There are various forecasts for this, as Professor Dr. Dr. Franz-Xaver Reichl from the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich explains in an interview with Merkur.de. According to him, there are voices who assume that the flu wave will be as weak as last year. “The other thesis says: Since there are many people who were not infected with the flu virus a year ago through these protective measures, there is also no immune protection. Since the measures such as wearing a mask, keeping your distance and so on have been relaxed somewhat, it could well be that these people (...),who now have no immune protection, even got a stronger flu ”.
The lack of immune protection against flu viruses * could therefore lead to a stronger flu wave than in recent years.
24vita.de
*
reveals
what
you should know about the flu vaccination
.
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Merkur editor Christine Novotny in conversation with Professor Reichl from LMU Munich.
© Merkur.de
Influenza vaccination: "People over 60 should be vaccinated with this high-dose influenza vaccine"
Like coronaviruses, flu viruses primarily spread via droplet infection. If you want to protect yourself from flu, you should avoid contact with flu sufferers. Face masks also protect against inhalation of potentially contaminated air. You can also prevent it by getting a flu vaccine. The flu vaccination prevents serious illness and is recommended by the Standing Vaccination Commission for people aged 60 and over, among others. On the website of the Robert Koch Institute as the leading biomedical research facility of the German federal government, it says: “
Especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, a high influenza vaccination rate for risk groups is essential in order to prevent severe influenza courses in the flu epidemic
and to avoid bottlenecks in hospitals (including intensive care beds, ventilation stations) ”.
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Getting vaccinated against the flu helps to relieve the burden on the health system.
© Lukas Schulze / dpa
Virus expert Franz-Xaver Reichl also sees the flu vaccination as useful - especially for people with a weakened immune system. According to Reichl, there is a new, high-dose and well-studied vaccine against influenza that “is more effective than the standard influenza vaccine, especially in people over 60.
People
over 60 should be vaccinated with this high-dose influenza vaccine,
”said Reichl's appeal. It makes most sense to get vaccinated against corona and flu, says Reichl: "Both shouldn't happen at the same time" - a certain distance is necessary in order not to overwhelm the immune system.
(jg) * Merkur.de and 24vita.de are an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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List of rubric lists: © Merkur.de
