key: cord-0777497-uhypmcfi authors: McCauley, John; Barr, Ian G.; Nolan, Terry; Tsai, Theodore; Rockman, Steven; Taylor, Beverly title: The importance of influenza vaccination during the COVID‐19 pandemic date: 2021-10-03 journal: Influenza Other Respir Viruses DOI: 10.1111/irv.12917 sha: 892baf128e972afa090b17b3498e9648a6964e76 doc_id: 777497 cord_uid: uhypmcfi The COVID‐19 pandemic and the measures taken to mitigate its spread have had a dramatic effect on the circulation patterns of other respiratory viruses, most especially influenza viruses. Since April 2020, the global circulation of influenza has been markedly reduced; however, it is still present in a number of different countries and could pose a renewed threat in the upcoming Northern Hemisphere winter. Influenza vaccination remains the most effective preventive measure that we have at our disposal against influenza infections and should not be ignored for the 2021–2022 season. again there will be a call for people to be vaccinated against influenza. In 2020, with high levels of COVID-19 infections and strict public health and social interventions dominating in many countries, little or no influenza circulated. 1, 2 In the second half of 2021, as countries approach high levels of immunity to COVID-19 through vaccination and/or infection, local and international travels have and will inevita- Normally, in the temperate regions of Australia, the seasonality of RSV has been very predictable, with cases rising in April-May each year, peaking in the winter months of June-July, before subsiding in August-September. 6 However, in 2020, the RSV season was atypical, with just a few sporadic cases, but this changed dramatically in late 2020 when a large outbreak occurred in New South Wales, shortly followed by outbreaks in Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland. 7 These outbreaks were very unusual as they occurred in the Spring-Summer period and, significantly, were as severe as those in a normal season, with many paediatric hospitalizations along with adult infections. There has also been a recent outbreak of RSV in the South of France 8 after virtually no RSV cases since late 2019-2020 with similar delayed outbreaks also seen in the United States. 9 While there are differences in the demographics and the global circulation of RSV and influenza, the two share many similarities including the groups that are most vulnerable to infection, the elderly and the very young. coadministration with influenza and other routine vaccines is in children also warranted. 18 As the available data to date indicate that coadministration of vaccines is a viable approach, there is benefit in continuing to generate more data to support this as it would facilitate the catch-up of missed vaccinations and would also expedite an efficient outcome for dual protection against influenza and COVID-19. In summary, even though influenza circulation is currently low globally, influenza viruses are still in circulation and can be rapidly transported when air travel returns leading to increased infections and potentially epidemics in late 2021 or 2022 as predicted in a recent modelling study. 19 Hence, as the threat of influenza is still present and now more likely to return, influenza vaccination remains the best way to mitigate against infection. So roll up your sleeves once more, just to be sure! Conceptualization. The peer review history for this article is available at https://publons. com/publon/10.1111/irv.12917. Data are derived from public domain resources. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4744-6347 Ian G. Barr https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7351-418X Where have all the viruses gone? Disappearance of seasonal respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic Uncertain effects of the pandemic on respiratory viruses JCVI interim advice: potential COVID-19 booster vaccine programme winter 2021 to 2022. Published Coinfection in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients: where are influenza virus and rhinovirus/enterovirus? Respiratory syncytial virusassociated hospitalisations in Australia Changing Epidemiology of Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Australia-delayed re-emergence in Victoria compared to WA/NSW after prolonged lock-down for Characteristics of the delayed respiratory syncytial virus epidemic Delayed seasonal RSV surge observed during the COVID-19 pandemic White matter hyperintensity quantification in large-scale clinical acute ischemic stroke cohorts-the MRI-GENIE study Viral epidemiology and SARS-CoV-2 co-infections with other respiratory viruses during the first COVID-19 wave Co-infection of SARS-COV-2 and influenza A virus: a case series and fast review Clinical characteristics and outcome of influenza virus infection among adults hospitalized with severe COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study from Wuhan, China Interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza, and the impact of coinfection on disease severity: a test-negative design General best practice guidelines for immunization. Best practices guidance of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP); 2019. Accessed on Safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine (NVX-CoV2373) coadministered with seasonal influenza vaccines Updated ATAGI advice on administering seasonal influenza vaccines in 2021 Predicting the impact of low influenza activity in 2020 on population immunity and future influenza season in the United States The importance of influenza vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic