Some public health experts worry that the arrival of flu season could be disastrous for hospitals already coping with COVID-19, but a professor at UVA’s School of Medicine says there’s reason to be hopeful.
Dr. Frederick Hayden and colleagues in Japan recently published a study on the anti-viral drug baloxavir marboxil. A single dose of that medication reduces the severity and duration of influenza, and has now been shown to protect people exposed to infected family members.
“Baloxavir reduced their risk of getting influenza illness by 86% compared to the placebo control group,” he says.
The drug, also known as Xofluza, could be approved for prevention this fall, and Hayden says that would be very good news.
“We need to reduce as much as possible the impact of influenza in the population so that we don’t use hospital beds and medical resources that we will need for COVID-19.”
Unfortunately, Hayden adds, this drug is not effective in treating COVID, but he predicts the spread of influenza could be limited by things we do to stop the coronavirus.
“If people are careful about social distancing and masking, there will be a reduction not only in COVID-19 but also influenza illness.”
Countries that imposed lockdowns over COVID-19 did, in fact, see a rapid drop in cases of flu.
