Updated vaccines for the flu and covid are available, and a Pittsburgh-based infectious disease physician is encouraging the use of an over-the-counter at-home test that can differentiate between the two viruses.
A nasal swab with the at-home test can help those who are ill know what virus they have as a way to prevent spread and seek treatment, if necessary.
“This is something that I think people should use,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, who also is a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “They are available, and I think it’s important that we use them.”
Flu and covid share many of the same symptoms: fever, body aches, cough and congestion, among others.
Dr. Carol Fox, chief medical officer for Independence Health System, said the at-home test can be helpful in determining how long someone should stay away from others to reduce the risk of passing on either virus.
“The more you know, the more likely we are to prevent spread,” she said.
As expected, updated flu and covid vaccines have been released ahead of fall and winter, when such infections typically peak. Western Pennsylvania saw slight increases in covid infections during the summer, but they were nowhere near the numbers hospitals were dealing with during the height of the pandemic.
A very high level of covid virus is being detected in wastewater in Pennsylvania, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Anyone 6 months or older, with rare exceptions, should get both vaccines, said Dr. Graham Snyder, UPMC medical director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiology, and Dr. Tom Walsh, infectious disease specialist with Allegheny Health Network. That is in line with recommendations from the CDC.
“September and October is the time” for the flu vaccine, Snyder said.
For the covid vaccine, “there’s no time too early,” he said.
A CDC program that provided free covid vaccines to the uninsured or underinsured ended last month because of federal funding cuts. The end of the Bridge Access Program, a public-private partnership, means that millions of Americans will have to pay out of pocket if they want the covid vaccine, ABC News reported. Pfizer and Moderna suggested last year a commercial price per dose to be between $110 and $130.
Americans who are covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance still will receive the updated vaccine at no cost, ABC News reported.
Snyder, Walsh and Fox expect new covid vaccines to be released in the future on a seasonal schedule, similar to the flu vaccine, while Adalja said it is too soon to know what the cadence will be. The regular updates allow both vaccines to be tailored to variants that are circulating, helping a person’s immune system to recognize the new form of the virus, they said.
“While new strains are continually emerging, the updated vaccines will continue to help provide protection against severe disease and death, even with newer mutations,” Walsh said.
While covid is infecting people year-round, the virus is most active in the winter, Snyder said.
Adalja agrees everyone should get a flu vaccine but believes only those at high risk should get the covid vaccine. This year’s covid vaccine better matches the variant that is circulating than formulas in past years, he said.
“It certainly doesn’t hurt anybody to get it,” he said.
The CDC says it is safe to get both vaccines in the same visit. Both have been shown to protect against severe outcomes, including hospitalizations and death, the agency said. In addition, vaccines can be preventive measures for those who are young and healthy, and as a way to protect others and reduce the risk of long covid.
The agency recommends anyone who falls ill with a respiratory virus to stay home to avoid spreading it to others. Normal activities can resume after 24 hours as long as symptoms are improving and a fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medication. Precautions, such as wearing a mask, should be taken over the next five days.
Adalja expects the illnesses to increase in the fall and winter, but both will be at manageable levels for hospitals.
Walsh agreed.
“However, severity of illness due to covid is decreasing, so the hope is that it will lead to lower peak hospitalizations and deaths,” he said.
The combined over-the-counter at-home flu and covid tests were given emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration in February 2023. A test is $40 on Amazon.com and may be reimbursable by health insurance.
Adalja said he hopes they catch on as a method to help those who are illand contribute to making respiratory viruses more manageable for health care professionals.
