Influenza vaccine was found to have cross-protective effects against heterologous illnesses, so the role of the influenza vaccination in COVID-19 infection is examined. A total of 1475 participants were separated into 2 groups: 194 individuals who got the influenza vaccination and 1,281 that did not. A comparison of positive COVID-19 testing was the primary outcome. From the two groups, 52 patients who got the influenza vaccination and 50 patients who did not get the vaccination were selected to predict the severity of the COVID-19 infection. The results showed that 13.15% of the participants received the influenza vaccine and no significant difference in the COVID-19 infection rates between the two groups was noted (odds ratio = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.890–1.630, p-value ≤ 0.05). In the vaccinated group, outcomes determined a nonsignificant decrease in the infected odds compared to noninfected, while a significant decrease was shown in the unvaccinated group. Finally, only 1 out of 52 patients (1.9%) in the vaccinated group required oxygen therapy or hospitalization versus 9 out of 50 patients (18%) in the unvaccinated group (odds ratio = 0.08, 95% CI = 0.01–0.7, p-value ≤ 0.05). Influenza vaccination could be linked to better clinical outcomes and a lower COVID-19 severity score, without significant effect on the infection rate.
Key words: COVID-19, Influenza ,Influenza vaccination, Corona virus, SARS-CoV- 2
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