the vaccines available at the end of September

Vaccines against the seasonal flu will be available in pharmacies by the end of September and the campaign will be launched, as usual, in October. “The vaccine adopted this year will be effective against four strains of the (quadrivalent) virus”, declared Dr Said Afif, president of Infovac Maroc to “Le Matin”, while emphasizing that the seasonal flu could be more or less severe this year and that the probability of co-infection flu and covid is not excluded, which may complicate the situation. Experts call for vigilance.

The seasonal flu virus reappears during this seasonal transition period. Children and even adults, especially people at risk, have been suffering from it for a few days with more or less serious forms. And for the third consecutive year, the flu season is combined with the risks of Covid-19, which increases the risk of developing fairly serious cases of the disease. In the opinion of Dr Said Afif, president of Infovac Maroc, contacted by “Le Matin”, the seasonal flu could be more or less severe this year and vaccination against seasonal flu remains the most effective way to deal with it. . In this regard, Dr. Afif affirms that the flu vaccines will be available in pharmacies by the end of September and that the campaign will be launched, as usual, between October and November. The expert would like to point out that the vaccine adopted this year will be effective against four strains of the virus, in particular H1N1 and H3N2. It should be remembered, in this regard, that the vaccine against seasonal flu is renewed each year since the virus undergoes mutations to which it will have to adapt. This anti-influenza vaccination campaign will thus be carried out in parallel with that of the anti-Covid vaccination. You should know that from a medical point of view, the concomitant administration of the two anti-influenza and anti-Covid vaccines does not pose any problem. However, the development of a single or universal vaccine against influenza and Covid-19 is eagerly awaited by professionals. This is a solution that could meet current and future public health challenges. The beginnings of a promising discovery in this direction are already there.

A universal vaccine?

A team from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University in the United States has just announced promising results on a universal vaccine effective against all mutations. Asked about this subject, Dr Tayeb Hamdi, medical researcher in health policies and systems, believes that this study constitutes a major advance, since “research has been launched for years all over the world to find a vaccine that does not no need to be rehabilitated every year and effective against the three types of the virus A, B and C”, he notes. For him, a long way remains, however, to go since the effectiveness of this vaccine has only been tested, for the time being, on mice. “We have to wait for the tests carried out on animals which have respiratory tracts similar to those of human beings, and then proceed to the tests on humans”, explains Dr. Hamdi. That said, no changes have been made to the seasonal influenza vaccine and it was developed using the usual method of taking into account the strains of influenza virus circulating and likely to circulate within the year.

On another register, the experts contacted by “Le Matin” invite citizens to massively adhere to the anti-Covid-19 vaccination campaign at the risk of suffering from flu and Covid-19 co-infection. A phenomenon that was observed during the last year and which complicates the care of patients. “This scenario risks, in fact, causing deaths, particularly among the elderly and those with chronic diseases,” warns Dr. Afif. For his part, Dr. Hamdi wishes to note that the adoption of certain reflexes such as ventilation, physical distancing and regular hand washing can only be beneficial during this new phase of the year.