Elderly, vulnerable people urged to get flu jab this year

The elderly, vulnerable people, and those who have contact with them, are being encouraged to get vaccinated against the influenza virus this year to avoid the risk of getting both the flu and COVID-19.

Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne said that co-infection with both the coronavirus and influenza could be very serious, as he urged people to get the flu jab in October or November to avoid such a situation.

Fearne was speaking in Parliament during question time on Monday.

“It is very important that vulnerable people and those who work with them get the flu vaccine. This will reduce the chance of catching both influenza and COVID-19,” he said.

The minister highlighted that Malta would this year be ordering double the number of flu vaccines which it usually did. The government has ordered 200,000 influenza vaccines, compared to the usual 100,000.

There have been very few new cases of COVID-19 in Malta in the past days, with most restrictions which had been in place to curb the spread of the virus having now been lifted.

Last week, the country reopened its airport to commercial flights, with the first few tourists now having started to fly in.

Despite this, health experts around the world have expressed fears that a second wave of the virus could hit once the weather starts getting colder later in the year.