(Trinidad Guardian) The country has entered into the Influenza (Flu) season but as the Ministry of Health rolled out its vaccination drive for this virus, which is running simultaneous to its COVID-19 immunization drive, there can be some uncertainty of how these shots should be taken.
The Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh, sought to lend some clarity on Saturday.
Someone who has not received the COVID or flu shot:
Someone who has not received a COVID-19 vaccine as yet can take the flu shot. However, they will need to wait two weeks before taking a COVID-19 jab.
Someone who received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine:
Someone who received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or completed their regimen will just need to wait two weeks after receiving the last shot to be able to take the flu shot.
Someone who received one dose of a COVID-19 Vaccine:
Someone who received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will need to wait until two weeks after taking the final dose before a flu shot can be administered. For instance, someone will need to wait two weeks after their second shot of Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Sinopharm. Someone who received the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine will just need to wait two weeks after the initial jab.
Who should get the flu shot?
The flu shot is available to anyone who wants to receive it, however, as Minister Deyalsingh explained, some categories of people should ensure that they get it. These are healthcare workers, pregnant women, those over 60 especially those with non-communicable diseases (hypertension, diabetes, etc), children over six months, the immunocompromised, those with chronic respiratory illnesses (asthma, COPD), and all frontline workers.
Where is it available?
At all 109 health centres across the country.
T&T’s flu shot
The flu vaccines being administered during this season is a quadrivalent one, according to Minister Deyalsingh. This means it’s effective against two different strains of Influenza A and two strains of Influenza B.
Prevalence of influenza in T&T
The prevalence of the flu in T&T has wained over the pandemic years. This is attributed to two main factors. Firstly the borders have been closed since March 23, 2020, which limited the importation of the virus into the country due to travel. Secondly, the influenza virus is spread in a similar way to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This means the protocols employed to protect the population against COVID-19 also worked to protect against the flu. In 2017/18, there were 4,598 flu cases with seven deaths. In 2018/19, there were 2,854 flu cases with 44 deaths. In 2019/20, there were just 858 suspected flu cases with no deaths recorded. In 2020/21 there were just 115 suspected cases with no deaths recorded.
