BRUSSELS — Influenza has returned to Europe at a faster-than-expected rate this winter after almost disappearing last year, raising concerns about a prolonged"twindemic" with Covid-19 amid some doubts about the effectiveness of flu vaccines.
Since mid-December, flu viruses have been circulating in Europe at a higher-than-expected rate, the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control reported this month. But it is a big increase on last year, when there was only one flu case in an ICU in the whole of December, data show. He said dismantling restrictive measures in the spring could prolong the circulation of flu far beyond the normal end of the European season in May.
Dr Penttinen said it was too early to make a final assessment of flu vaccines because a larger number of ill patients was needed for real-world analyses. But lab tests show the vaccines available this year"are not going to be optimal" against H3. Flu vaccines are adapted every year to make them as effective as possible against ever-changing flu viruses. Their composition is decided six months before the flu season kicks in, based on circulation of viruses in the opposite hemisphere. That gives time for drugmakers to develop and make the shots.
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