Flu peak often only in February - RKI expert on flu vaccination: "It's not too late"
Created: 2022-01-27 05:34
There are still rather few flu cases in Germany.
But the virus circulation could increase in the coming weeks.
© Maurizio Gambarini/dpa
What threatens the healthcare system if the flu epidemic is added to Corona?
You can find out here whether the danger has already been averted for this season.
From an expert's point of view, a flu vaccination can still be advisable these days - despite the comparatively low number of infections so far.
The further course of the influenza season is still associated with many imponderables,
but it is definitely too early to give the all-clear, said flu expert Silke Buda from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
So far, the scientific criteria for the beginning of the flu epidemic in Germany have not been met.
However, according to Buda, it cannot be ruled out that the pathogen will spread even more in the coming weeks.
"It's not too late for people who want to be vaccinated to get the flu shot*.
On the contrary,
in the currently unclear situation, it would even be particularly good
," said Buda.
Influenza waves often peak at the end of February
As a rule, seasonal flu outbreaks begin after the turn of the year, and the peak is often reached at the end of February or beginning of March. Against this background, vaccination is usually carried out starting in the fall. "The special feature of this season is that a larger part of the population was not boosted by a natural infection because of the canceled flu season 2020/21. This makes it less easy to estimate what will happen.” The RS virus, for example, which can be dangerous for smaller children,
has been unusually widespread since late summer 2021, also under the influence of the pandemic and contact restrictions.
In any case, it is advantageous that the distance and hygiene rules to protect against corona also inhibit the spread of influenza
, said Buda.
"The mask also helps against all pathogens of respiratory diseases." Against this background, she also hopes that there will not be an excessive flu epidemic this winter, but that the infection process will slowly return to the usual seasonal pattern.
Fewer flu cases than in the pre-pandemic seasons
The number of confirmed cases of influenza in Germany * has increased in recent weeks, but then the development has been dampened - probably also influenced by Christmas, the turn of the year and the school holidays.
Almost 1000 cases have been reported to the RKI since the beginning of October, around a quarter of which have been treated in hospital.
It is not possible to predict whether and how much flu activity will increase, said Buda.
The level of cases so far is higher than last winter, but lower than in the pre-pandemic seasons.
more on the subject
Electricity price gossip: After the electricity provider went bankrupt, customers have to pay
Epidemiologist Zeeb does not rule out further corona waves
Corona in prison: most of the inmates fully vaccinated
Virus type A(H3N2) is currently circulating mainly in Europe, Buda said.
It only came to the population with the influenza pandemic in 1968 and often caused severe seasonal waves in the following decades.
Children are often infected with it, but problematic courses of the disease affect older people in particular.
"
The first laboratory results on the accuracy of the vaccine do not look bad,
" said Buda.
It is possible that another virus type, such as type B, will take over over the course of the winter and the situation will change again.
For the WHO Europe region, the flu season began with increased influenza activity at the beginning of December 2021, writes the Influenza Working Group (AGI) at the RKI in its weekly report of January 19 on the international situation.
In the first week of January, six countries reported rates of more than 10 percent positive influenza tests.
Flu current: strong virus circulation in France
France is also mentioned alongside countries such as Armenia, Belarus and Serbia.
The vaccination campaign against influenza has been extended in our neighboring country because of the active virus circulation.
Since the beginning of October, 72 people with severe flu have been admitted to the intensive care unit, six of whom have died.
The number of visits to the doctor because of flu has recently increased significantly
, but is still well below the peaks of the flu outbreaks in previous years.
Since the beginning of the corona pandemic in 2020, experts have feared that there could be a
massive double burden from corona and flu*
for clinics and practices .
The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) recommends flu vaccinations for people over the age of 60, pregnant women, those with previous illnesses and medical staff.
(dpa) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.