MarketWatch
Many diabetes doctors and care specialists are saying they’ve been getting more frequent questions from patients about flu shots this year due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Their answer: Getting the flu vaccine is more important than ever for people with diabetes (PWDs), because contracting the flu could weaken the immune system, leading to fluctuating and higher glucose levels — which puts us at elevated risk for COVID-19 and its effects on the body. Surprisingly, stats show that the general public isn’t thinking about the flu as much as they ought to be.
A September 2020 survey from C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan found that only 1 in 3 parents agree it’s more important to get a flu shot this year, and nearly 1 in 3 won’t be vaccinating their kids for the season. With that, some health experts describe the potential for a“twindemic” of both COVID-19 and flu in the United States this winter. But for PWDs, getting a flu shot is as critical as it’s ever been, says Davida Kruger, a nurse practitioner and diabetes care and education specialist (DCES) at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan. “We do not want folks with diabetes to have to deal with anything more on top of everything else,” she said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) flags this in a yellow notification box at the top of its flu and diabetes pageTrusted Source, calling out how critical it is for those with diabetes, asthma, and other chronic conditions to get a flu vaccine. In New York, DCES Margaret Pellizzari agrees. She says that at Northwell Health pediatric endocrinology clinics, they’ve stepped up awareness on the need for flu vaccinations this year.
They cite the American Diabetes Association guidance specifically, which encourages PWDs and their families to get a flu shot as well as a pneumonia vaccine each year. “We state the rationale for this practice and hope (patients) are able to make a reasonable decision to stay as protected as possible,” she told DiabetesMine. “We discuss the fact that while the vaccine may not be 100 percent protective, it may minimize the severity if a PWD catches the flu despite vaccination.”
