Vaccination against highly 'twindemic' of COVID-19, flu

A top Chinese epidemiologist has warned against the high possibility of a "twindemic" scenario of COVID-19 and influenza in the upcoming winter and the spring and urged the public to be vaccinated against both.

The outbreak has been at its peak since this summer and has two variants. Thus, the risk of a combination of influenza and COVID-19 this winter and next spring is higher, Zeng Guang, former chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China's CDC), said on Sunday.

The lack of vigilance about the Omicron variant of COVID-19 now has led to an increase in cases this summer in China, in addition to the peak seasons of January and February.

To deal with a possible "twindemic", Zeng, quoted by the Health Times affiliated with the People's Daily, called for dual vaccinations, especially for vulnerable groups including students, elderly people who usually have chronic diseases, and pregnant women.

Zeng's warning coincided with the start of flu vaccinations in multiple Chinese cities.  

Beijing will provide free flu vaccines in three batches from September 13 through the end of November. Those over 60 are in the first batch, while students from primary schools, high schools and secondary vocational schools are in the second batch. Residents can pay by themselves for vaccination until of the end of February in 2023.

According to the National Health Commission (NHC), 1.27 billion Chinese people have taken COVID-19 vaccine, but the rate for flu is much less. The Chinese CDC said in August that the vaccination rate in the flu high-occurrence season from 2021 to 2022 was only about 2.46%.

To address a potential twindemic, Zeng suggested a simultaneous flu and COVID-19 shot. 

The expert said vaccines of the two being received at the same time is safe for adults above 18, suggesting a 14-day interval for people under 18 between their influenza and COVID-19 shots. In August, the Chinese CDC released technical guidelines for influenza vaccination for 2022 to 2023, allowing people above the age of 18 to receive both inactivated influenza vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine at the same time.

"It's better to get the flu vaccine two weeks ahead of the high-occurrence seasons. People in the north part of China can get vaccinated from late October to mid-November," Zeng noted.

Data compiled by the NHC on Sunday showed the COVID-19 situation in China has been grave since August, with over 1,000 cases being reported in a dozen provinces and regions on Saturday.

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