Early evidence suggests that COVID-19 patients with positive influenza A immunoglobulin M (IgM) had a lower risk of mortality and severe COVID-19 illness compared with those who showed a negative IgM status. It has also been reported that influenza vaccination is negatively associated with COVID-19 mortality in older adults; in Brazil, a patient registry showed that patients who recently received an influenza vaccination had a lower odds of severe illness and mortality from COVID-19.

Older adults and patients with comorbidities are at greater risk of COVID-19 infection, and they are also more likely to develop severe illness after infection. While prior research suggests that influenza vaccination may reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection, healthy vaccine effect was not considered. Therefore, it is important to further evaluate the effect of influenza vaccination on risk of COVID-19 infection taking healthy vaccine effect into consideration.

Being that older adults are especially vulnerable to COVID-19, the aim of [this] study was to evaluate whether influenza vaccination (1) reduces the risk of COVID-19 infection and (2) reduces the severity of illness after being infected by COVID-19 in adults age 65 or older. [In conclusion], the influenza vaccine may marginally protect people from COVID-19 infection. However, it remains important to receive an influenza vaccination to reduce the risk of co-infection of influenza and COVID-19.

“Influenza vaccination and the risk of COVID-19 infection and severe illness in older adults in the United States” – Kelly Huang et al. Nature.com

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