Czech health minister: Now is the time to schedule Covid and flu jabs

As autumn and winter approach, the Czech Republic is gearing up to combat the annual surge in acute respiratory infections, with a focus on the co-occurrence of influenza and Covid-19, which poses a heightened risk to vulnerable populations, including the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.

At a press conference Tuesday, State Health Institute (SZÚ) director Barbora Macková and Health Minister Vlastimil Válek urged people in Czechia to get vaccinated for both illnesses now.

"Vaccination is one of the greatest successes of modern medicine and acts as a basic preventive tool in preventing complications, severe course of the disease and long-term consequences of the disease. The latest vaccines against influenza, Covid-19 and are in ample supply in the Czech Republic," Válek said.

Health Minister Válek emphasized the importance of vaccination as a crucial preventive measure to avert complications and severe illness, urging citizens to get vaccinated while also practicing preventive measures like social distancing and mask-wearing.

Macková noted a slight increase in respiratory cases compared to previous years, making the beginning of the respiratory season an ideal time for vaccination. Officials from the SZÚ confirmed that the flu vaccine can be administered alongside the Covid-19 vaccine on the same day, a recommendation supported by the Vaccinology Society.

The Czech Republic aims to address historically low flu vaccination rates by raising awareness about the severity of the flu, which affects hundreds of thousands of people and claims around 1,500 lives annually. Less than one in 10 people annually seek the flu vaccine in Czechia, and about a quarter of seniors.

Experts warn that people will need to get vaccinated against Covid-19 annually, similarly to the influenza vaccination. The new type of coronavirus is called Omicron XBB.1.5.

About two-thirds of the Czech population has been vaccinated against Covid-19 at least once, and one-third of Czechs have had a booster dose following a previous vaccination.