Last week, I wrote that everyone should get the influenza vaccine this year. My reasoning, which I believe is sound (feel free to opine otherwise), is that because coronavirus and the flu have multiple overlapping symptoms, getting the flu this year can cause tremendous problems for our daily lives.

I saw that several individuals commented on that article, saying that I am clearly not aware of the link between the flu vaccine and an increase in susceptibility to coronavirus. Well, I am not unaware of your claims, but I am aware that your claims are wrong.

A just-released study by the Cleveland Clinic shows very conclusive evidence that the flu vaccine does not, in fact, make you more susceptible to coronavirus. The study included 13,000 participants, some of whom received the flu vaccine in 2019, and some who did not. The study found that having received the flu vaccine did not correlate with an increase in coronavirus infection or severity of illness in those who did get infected.

“Our findings suggest that we should proceed as usual with our vaccination strategy for global influenza this flu season,” said Dr. Joe Zein, who led the study. “Getting the annual flu vaccine remains the best safeguard against the influenza virus–both for yourself and the people around you.”

I have included a PDF of the study below so you can review it yourself.

Like I said, a “twindemic” of coronavirus and the flu this winter could be utterly devastating for our daily lives. It can severely hamper our schools, our shuls, our businesses, and literally every other part of our social lives. There is no safety issue with taking the vaccine (yes, I know anti-vaxxers think there is; there isn’t). So please just get the vaccine so we can save ourselves a lot of agmas nefesh.

Wishing everyone a gmar tov and a happy, healthy, and successful coming year.