EU’s health commissioner warns of ‘twindemic’ of Covid-19, seasonal flu

A protester holds a placard reading in French: “Covid 10,000 deaths per day. Lift patents” during a protest to support lifting patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines in Geneva. Pics/AFP

As winter comes, the circulation of viruses that cause Covid-19 and seasonal influenza could possibly trigger a "twindemic", the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides warned on Friday. "As we move from autumn to winter... we need to take action and ensure our health systems do not become overburdened," Kyriakides said in a statement.

The commissioner said up to 40,000 people in the European Union (EU) lose their lives each year due to influenza-related causes even without the pandemic, calling on the public to get vaccinated against the seasonal influenza. With Covid-19 restrictions in place, the EU had an "extremely mild flu season" last year. "Let's ensure that we do not have a resurgence this year, as our societies gradually reopen," she warned. Nearly three-fourths of the adult population in the EU has been fully vaccinated, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Stella Kyriakides

The ECDC statistics show that while 90 per cent of adults have been fully vaccinated in Portugal and Ireland, only 34.8 per cent of adults in Romania and 23.7 per cent in Bulgaria have received the needed doses. Kyriakides said the situation is similarly dire when it comes to the overall uptake of influenza vaccinations. "There are Member States with almost 70 per cent of their elderly vaccinated, and in others less than 10 per cent," she noted.

US child Covid cases top 6 million

The cumulative number of child Covid-19 cases in the US has surpassed six million, according to a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). As of October 7, over 6.04 million American children have contracted the virus since the pandemic began, AAP said. Over 1,48,000 cases were added between September 30 and October 7, with over 7,50,000 child cases added over the past four weeks.

Fully vaxxed foreign visitors can enter US from November 8

"This announcement and date applies to both international air travel and land travel," Kevin Munoz, White House Assistant Press Secretary, said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has informed airlines that all the FDA-approved vaccines and jabs that have an Emergency Use Listing from the WHO will be accepted for US-bound travel.

24,09,36,894
TOTAL Number OF CORONAVIRUS

CASES IN THE WORLD

49,06,945
Number OF DEATHS WORLDWIDE

21,81,70,120
Number OF RECOVERED PATIENTS

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