The developmental strategy for a vaccine for seasonal influenza will pave the way for the upcoming vaccines for the coronavirus, according to a the study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The researchers explored whether existing flu prevention strategies could offer primary and secondary prevention strategies for coronavirus, especially for Covid-19 patients with cardiovascular issues.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, influenza kills as many as 6.5 lakh people every year globally.
The multilateral organisation sees influenza as one of the top 10 leading causes of death among people of all ages, especially those with one or more comorbidities like cardiovascular disease.
Research has shown that viral respiratory infections such as seasonal influenza and Covid-19 are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Study author Jacob A Udell from the University of Toronto in Canada, said in a statement: “Although Covid-19 and other respiratory virus infections are associated with acute myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular events, influenza has the best evidence of a safe vaccine option for cardiovascular risk reduction to date.”
Udell added: “Three large ongoing influenza vaccine cardiovascular outcome trials have an opportunity to contribute further to our understanding of the underlying comorbidities in these patients that may be driving morbidity and mortality associated with Covid-19 infection.”
“While developing new vaccines, we will also definitively learn soon whether influenza vaccination is an effective, low-cost, widely available therapy that reduces cardiovascular risk, which may further help prevent fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular complications of Covid-19,” he noted.
According to previous reports, the symptoms of influenza and coronavirus are almost the same. Both infections are lethal for people with respiratory issues. However, Covid-19 is more contagious than influenza.