Experts at the World Health Organization said during a news briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that it is particularly important for everyone to get the flu vaccine this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With the novel coronavirus pandemic still spreading and flu season approaching, experts believe that getting vaccinated against flu will help avert hospital crisis as well as offer some protection against severe COVID-19 infection.
With no specific antiviral agent or vaccine against COVID-19, the disease caused by the SAS-CoV-2 virus, scientists and health researchers globally are exploring different approaches to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Worldwide, at least 774,832 people have now succumbed to COVID-19 and about 21,936,820 cases have been confirmed in 196 countries and territories.
On Tuesday, WHO senior adviser Bruce Aylward urged the world to administer widespread anti-flu vaccinations, which will help ward off the risk of complicating coronavirus infections, reported Reuters. WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove added that studies to date showed that less than 10 per cent of the population has evidence of antibodies against the dreaded virus.
