Cold air strikes again How to prevent scientifically during the high incidence of influenza season?

Under the influence of cold air, yesterday, rain and snow cooling weather appeared in many places in northern China, and the cooling range in some areas reached 10 ~ 18 ° C. Today, cold air continues to move eastward and southward, bringing strong winds to cool down the central and eastern regions of our country. Cold air strikes, and there will be frequent flu in many areas.

Let's look at a set of figures for Beijing. Last month, with the arrival of multiple cold waves, the proportion of influenza in Beijing increased year-on-year. The results of the beijing municipal influenza surveillance show that from November 15 to 21 alone, the cumulative number of outpatient and emergency department visits in hospitals above the second level in Beijing was 924,476, and the number of influenza-like cases was 11,689, an increase of 16.69% compared with the same period last year. According to the influenza surveillance data of Beijing in previous years, the peak of influenza epidemic in Beijing generally occurs from late December to mid-January of the following year.

At present, it has entered the season of high incidence of influenza, and the global new crown epidemic is still at a high level, which is prone to the superposition of influenza and respiratory infectious diseases such as new crown. While preventing COVID-19, don't forget to prevent the flu. This year's high incidence of influenza season, what are the characteristics of influenza activities in various places? To prevent influenza, do I need to get the flu vaccine every year? Can the flu vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine be given at the same time? What else to pay attention to in preventing influenza? Enter today's question to the end.

What is the difference between flu and common cold symptoms?

To answer these questions, let's first understand, what is the difference between the flu and the common cold? What are the types of influenza viruses?

Influenza is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by influenza virus, mainly with systemic symptoms, such as fever, muscle aches, fatigue, headaches, etc. The common cold is dominated by local symptoms of the respiratory tract such as runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, sore throat, and cough, and the systemic symptoms are mild. Influenza has an acute onset, symptoms are more severe than the general cold, and some patients can develop into a severe cold due to complications such as pneumonia.

Influenza viruses can be divided into 3 subtypes, influenza A, B, and C. Among them, the main causes of human infection and seasonal epidemic are influenza A virus and influenza B virus. From October to March of the following year, it is the epidemic season for respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza.

What are the characteristics of influenza activity in various parts of our country this year?

What are the characteristics of influenza activity in various parts of our country this year? In October this year, the National Health Commission issued a notice asking all localities to do a good job in influenza prevention and control, pointing out that the risk of overseas epidemics entering China continues to exist, especially the continuous emergence of new coronavirus variants has brought more uncertainty to the development of the epidemic. Since March this year, influenza activity in the northern and southern provinces has been higher than the same period in 2020, and the level of influenza activity in the southern provinces has shown a significant upward trend since September, and the risk of superimposed epidemics of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza still exists this winter and next spring.

The most effective way to prevent influenza is to get the flu vaccine. So does the flu vaccine need to be given every year?

Does the flu vaccine need to be given annually?

The reporter learned from the National Health Commission that the annual influenza vaccine is the most effective means of preventing influenza, which can significantly reduce the risk of influenza and serious complications in vaccinated people. Influenza viruses are susceptible to mutation, and to match the constantly mutating influenza virus, the influenza vaccine components recommended by the World Health Organization in most seasons update one or more strains, and the vaccine strains are exactly the same as those in the previous epidemic season. In order to ensure maximum protection for the vaccinated population, even if the composition of the influenza vaccine is exactly the same as in the previous epidemic season, the influenza vaccine still needs to be given annually, considering that the immunity of most vaccinated people will gradually weaken over time.

Can the flu vaccine and the covid-19 vaccine be given at the same time?

Will influenza vaccination have any effect on COVID-19 vaccination? How long do I need to be vaccinated? At this afternoon's joint prevention and control press conference, experts answered these questions.

Wang Huaqing, chief expert of the immunization program of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention: At present, we stipulate in the "Technical Guidelines for New Coronavirus Vaccination" that in addition to rabies vaccines and tetanus vaccines, they should be vaccinated at intervals of 14 days with other vaccines. Of course, such a rule is not set in stone, and as the results of the study continue to come out, we may also make an adjustment to this interval. Here I would like to tell you that in the short term, the vaccine for slowing down influenza, chickenpox vaccine, hand-foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, etc., its role is also limited. In this case, it is recommended to give priority to the new crown virus vaccine, other vaccines have reached the specified time interval, and they should also be vaccinated in time. During this period, personal protection is also of great significance.

Who are the key populations? Who needs to get the flu vaccine first?

The most effective means of preventing influenza is influenza vaccination, which is required annually. So, which key populations should prioritize influenza vaccination?

The Technical Guidelines for Influenza Vaccination in China (2021-2022) recommends vaccination of key and high-risk groups in order of priority, including: medical personnel, participants in large-scale activities and security personnel, vulnerable people and employees in crowd gathering places such as elderly care institutions, long-term care institutions, and welfare homes, people in key places such as childcare institutions, primary and secondary schools, and key and high-risk groups such as the elderly at home aged 60 and above, children aged 6 months to 5 years old, patients with chronic diseases, and pregnant women.

Can I carry the flu hard?

After talking about the flu vaccine, let's take a look at how to treat it if we have the flu. Many people think that the flu is a small problem, and it can be carried on, so is this really the case?

Tian Xinlun, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Peking Union Medical College Hospital: (Influenza) can cause the respiratory tract to spread downwards, such as some pneumonia, once there is especially severe pneumonia, such as breathing difficulties, it is more dangerous, in addition, there are some people because of the flu virus, it can invade other organs, such as myocarditis, then this time should also go to the doctor in time.

Is it really useful to take anti-inflammatory drugs when you have the flu or a cold?

Some people have the flu on the hard shoulder, and there are many people, the flu or cold the first thing to think of is to take some anti-inflammatory drugs. Does this method really work?

Ding Xinmin, deputy director of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Shijitan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University: Because the flu is caused by viruses, antibiotics only target bacteria, so your use of antibiotics not only can not play the role of this treatment, but also can bring some side effects, common side effects after the use of antibiotics, one is to aggravate the resistance of bacteria, and the second is that the use of antibiotics can cause this damage to some human organs. Under what circumstances are antibiotics used? Antibiotics may be considered in times of complications and secondary bacterial infection.

Source: CCTV News