Omicron can protect you from seasonal flu – Business Plus

London testing expert DR Quinton Fivelman says that if you’ve recently had the Omicron variant of Covid, you could be protected from severe influenza infection as early as this winter.

dr Fivelman, the chief scientific officer at the London Medical Laboratory, said: “Finally, there may be a silver lining to the pandemic cloud. There is strong evidence that catching the latest omicron variants of Covid can protect you from severe flu.

“However, this does not apply to earlier Covid variants such as Delta.

Earlier this year, the London Medical Laboratory noticed a correlation between patients reporting they had contracted Covid and extremely low influenza infection rates. However, since flu cases are less common in the warmer months, this has been difficult to verify.

Now, research by Prof Martin Michaelis and teams from the University of Kent and Germany shows a direct link between catching the latest omicron variants of Covid-19 and protection from the flu. It appears that a response from the body caused by fighting the Omicron variant also stops the influenza virus from replicating.

dr Fivelman added that a new study “Omicron inhibits infection with the influenza A virus‘, shows that Omicron BA.1 and BA.5 (the most common subvariant) induce a distinct interferon response that suppresses influenza A virus replication. Type A influenza is by far the most common cause of influenza in humans.

“Interferons are proteins that tell our immune system that viruses like Omicron are in our bodies, prompting immune cells to fight these invaders,” he explained.

“Interestingly, the study also shows that these interferons are not created in response to earlier versions of Covid like Delta. However, both Omicron subvariants tested caused the production of biologically active type I and III interferons and protected cells from superinfection with influenza A viruses.

“The study provides the same connection as the London Medical Laboratory’s own observations that while influenza-like illnesses increased during the delta wave in England, their spread quickly decreased with the emergence of Omicron.”

Covid booster and flu shot?

Which leaves the question of whether a Covid booster shot should be combined with a flu virus vaccine as is now recommended by the HSE. Infectious disease expert Monica Gandhi from the University of California, San Francisco, said it would do no harm, and that a British study found no increase in side effects or booster antibodies.

However, Katrine Wallacean epidemiologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, advises taking a day off after a combination of the last booster shot and the flu shot, or even just the booster shot, after anecdotal reports of extreme lethargy and flu-like symptoms last 24 to 36 hours.

Wallace said: “The best way to ensure you are protected from catching Covid and spreading it to others is to get vaccinated and fortified. But when you get a boost it’s a good idea to make sure you can take the next day off.”

Fivelman, of course, is not advocating trying to get Covid rather than the flu vaccine.

“We should in no way consider Omicron to be safer or in any way preferable to influenza. The latest research shows that Omicron is just as likely as previous Covid variants to lead to long Covid cases, with 34% of all long Covid cases developing during the Omicron era.

“The good news is that if you’re unlucky enough to contract Omicron, the interferons your body produces could protect you from a severe flu.”