Journal of Pharmaceutical Care (Mar 2022)

Evaluation of the Possible Effect of the Influenza Vaccine on the Severity, Mortality, and Length of Hospitalization among Unvaccinated COVID-19 Patients; An Observational, Cross-Sectional Study

  • Nafiseh Alizadeh,
  • Fatemeh Sadat Tabatabaei,
  • Mina Borran,
  • Mehrnoush Dianatkhah,
  • Amirali Azimi,
  • Seyedeh Nafise Forghani,
  • Samaneh Akbarpour,
  • Mahboubeh Alizadeh,
  • Sara Torabi,
  • Neda Faraji

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18502/jpc.v10i1.9123
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 1

Abstract

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Background: Based upon WHO (World Health Organization) Coronavirus Dashboard more than 5 million deaths worldwide have been attributed to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) caused by the SARS-Cov-2 virus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus) till November 2021. The annual flu vaccination has raised many questions about the vaccine's effects on Covid-19 outcomes. Several possible mechanisms including cross-reactivity and cross-protection have been reported to be responsible for the potential protective effect of the flu vaccine on the COVID-19 infection. This study was performed to evaluate the possible effect of the influenza vaccine on the disease severity, the mortality rate, and the length of hospitalization in COVID-19 patients. Methods: The data of 1300 patients were recorded from May 2020 to October 2020. Patients with a previous history of COVID-19, patients under 18 years old, and patients who did not have accurate information about their influenza vaccination history were excluded. 498 hospitalized unvaccinated COVID-19 patients with typical clinical manifestations and a positive PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test for COVID-19 were included in this observational, cross-sectional study. The participants were divided into two groups (vaccinated and unvaccinated) based on the history of influenza vaccination at the time of admission.Results: The length of hospital stay was lower in the vaccinated compared to the unvaccinated group (p 0.05).Conclusion: Since the patients studied in this article did not receive any of the Covid-19 vaccines; Therefore, the effect of influenza vaccination on the clinical course of Covid-19 can be evaluated using the results of this study. A longer length of hospital stay was observed in the unvaccinated patients in our study, which may suggest the possible protective effect of the influenza vaccine against COVID-19.

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