The new version of the influenza vaccination guidelines recommends four groups of people to be given priority for vaccination

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently released the "Technical Guidelines for Influenza Vaccine Immunization in China (2020-2021)", which recommends that medical personnel; vulnerable groups and employees in places where people gather, such as nursing homes, long-term care institutions, and welfare homes; people in key places and other people at high risk of influenza should be given priority for influenza vaccination.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that the global COVID-19 epidemic has been rising and falling. Autumn and winter are the peak seasons for respiratory diseases. Lower temperatures are conducive to the survival and spread of COVID-19, influenza and other viruses. There is a risk of overlapping epidemics of COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza in autumn and winter this year. Therefore, the importance of seasonal influenza prevention and control is more prominent.

The guidelines mention that seasonal influenza epidemics can cause 3 million to 5 million severe cases and 290,000 to 650,000 deaths related to respiratory diseases worldwide each year. High-risk groups such as pregnant women, infants, the elderly and patients with chronic underlying diseases are at higher risk of developing serious illness and death after contracting influenza. In particular, the severe global epidemic of the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic will continue this year, and the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic and respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza may overlap this winter and next spring. Vaccination against influenza is the most effective means of preventing influenza, which can reduce the harm caused by influenza-related diseases and the occupation of medical resources.

The reporter interviewed Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. He said that autumn and winter are the peak seasons for common respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza, and the number of patients seeking medical treatment will increase, which will overlap with the prevention and control of the new coronavirus pneumonia, making it difficult for medical staff to make differential diagnoses, increasing the difficulty of isolation and medical burden, and not conducive to epidemic prevention and control. The most effective way is to vaccinate key groups with influenza vaccines as soon as possible.

In light of the ongoing global spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, the guidelines recommend the following groups as priority vaccination targets: medical personnel, including clinical treatment personnel, public health personnel, health quarantine personnel, etc.; vulnerable groups and employees in places where people gather, such as nursing homes, long-term care institutions, and welfare homes; people in key places, such as teachers and students in childcare institutions, primary and secondary schools, and inmates and staff in prisons; other high-risk groups for influenza, including home-based elderly people aged 60 and above, children aged 6 months to 5 years, patients with chronic diseases, family members and caregivers of infants under 6 months old, and pregnant women or women who are preparing to become pregnant during the influenza season, etc. People aged ≥6 months and without contraindications can receive influenza vaccines.