Should I get the new crown vaccine, flu vaccine and pneumonia vaccine all together? Three medical experts explain

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Several experts warn that although the New Crown vaccine, the flu vaccine and the pneumonia vaccine all prevent pneumonia, they target different pathogens separately, so the three vaccines are not interchangeable in terms of immune effect, so you can get the flu vaccine and the pneumonia vaccine on top of the New Crown vaccine to give your body multiple protections.

Experts recommend that influenza vaccine and pneumonia vaccine can be given in addition to the New Crown vaccine.

Winter, traditionally a season of high respiratory illness, is prevalent not only with the New Crown virus, but also with the influenza virus.

On June 17, 2022, Wang Dayan, director of the National Influenza Center of the Institute of Viral Disease Prevention and Control of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the “Let’s Talk About Influenza” and “New” Experts Roundtable Forum hosted by the Vaccine and Health Branch of the China Medical and Health Culture Association The flu will remain seasonal from winter 2022 to spring 2023, said Wang.

According to the National Influenza Center’s weekly report, the percentage of influenza-like cases increased rapidly in both southern and northern provinces in Week 51 (Dec. 19, 2022 – Dec. 25, 2022). The percentage of influenza-like case visits reported by sentinel hospitals in the South and North was 212% and 325% of the same period last year.

What is pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus? What is pneumonia caused by influenza virus? Is it necessary to receive influenza vaccine and pneumonia vaccine after receiving the new crown vaccine?

In this regard, the surging technology reporter connected with Wang Junxue, director of infection department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University (Shanghai Changzheng Hospital), Gong Zilong, deputy chief physician of respiratory and critical care medicine department of the Fifth Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei Province, and Tao Lina, a vaccine science expert and former physician in charge of immunization planning department of Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tao Lina said that the formation of pneumonia is a process of pathological changes, and its formation is mainly caused by two types of viral and bacterial infections, so pneumonia is also divided into two types of viral pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia. The clinical symptoms of the two types of pneumonia are similar and are difficult to distinguish from the phenotype alone, and need to be judged by pathogenic testing. Both Newcastle pneumonia and influenza pneumonia are viral pneumonia, and their pathogens are Newcastle virus and influenza virus, respectively.

So, can you get viral pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia at the same time? Wang Junxue believes that respiratory infections caused by viruses and bacteria generally rarely occur at the same time. As for whether one can be infected with both viral pneumonia and influenza pneumonia at the same time, Wang Junxue said that it is possible to be infected at the same time, but the rate of simultaneous infection varies from place to place.

All three experts said that once infected at the same time, not only will the clinical symptoms worsen, but the impact on the lungs will also deepen, especially in vulnerable people such as the elderly, and the infection will most likely increase the probability of critical illness and death.

The consensus of the three experts is that, on a conditional and voluntary basis, vaccination with the New Crown vaccine, influenza vaccine and pneumonia vaccine is recommended. All three vaccines prevent pneumonia, but they target different pathogens: the New Coronavirus vaccine prevents pneumonia caused by novel coronaviruses, the influenza vaccine prevents pneumonia caused by influenza viruses, and the pneumonia vaccine prevents pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (a bacterium that is carried in the upper respiratory tract of 5% to 10% of normal people, and certain Streptococcus pneumoniae are important pathogens that cause human disease), so the three vaccines are not The three vaccines cannot be substituted for each other.

In terms of the order of vaccination, experts believe that there is no established rule of order and that vaccination can be scheduled according to the timing of the viral and bacterial epidemics. Generally speaking, the influenza virus epidemic period is in November every year, and antibodies are not produced in the body until about 2 weeks after vaccination, so it is recommended to receive the influenza vaccine around mid-October. Since this is the epidemic period for the New Coronavirus, priority should be given to the New Coronavirus vaccine. People who have already received the New Crown vaccine or have been infected with the New Crown virus and have developed antibodies in their bodies can arrange to receive the pneumonia vaccine.

However, experts also caution that people with major diseases, people with severe vaccine allergies, pregnant women, and people undergoing immunosuppressive therapy (adjuvant therapy in which immunosuppressive drugs or other measures artificially weaken or block the body’s ability to respond to immunity) may have adverse reactions to vaccination and need to be vaccinated with caution.