Head of Moldova's Strategic Centre of Health Policies says effects of overlapping of seasonal flu with COVID-19 must be minimized

Chisinau, 11 October /MOLDPRES/ - ‘’The anti-flu vaccination started in time would help us avoid a disaster in the medical system,’’ the head of the Strategic Centre of Health Policies, Inga Pasecinic, has said in an interview given exclusively with the Moldpres Agency.    

Experts are concerned about the overlapping of the symptoms of flu and COVID-19, including fever, muscle pains and cough, as well as the potential impact of the infection both with the flu virus and the virus which triggers COVID-19 simultaneously. There are already efforts to launch tests which detect both COVID-19 and flu, as the possibility to quickly distinguish between the two infections will have important implications for efforts of isolation and pursuing contacts, the official said.    

„According to recommendations by the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, it is preferable for the general population to vaccinate in the beginning of the autumn, really, till late October, in order to provide protection during most of the flu season,’’ Inga Pasecinic noted.   

Moldova has already purchased the French vaccine Vaxigrip and it will be soon distributed to medical institutions. This year, the number of doses of anti-flu vaccines was considerably increased.    

The full interview with the head of the Strategic Centre of Health Policies, Inga Pasecinic, can be read here:  https://www.moldpres.md/news/2020/10/09/20008042