Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute Logo
Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute Logo
  • About
  • Science
    • Laboratories
    • Clinical & Translational Research
    • Departments
      Biomedical Engineering Cancer Biology Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences Florida Research & Innovation Center Genomic Medicine Immunotherapy & Precision Immuno-Oncology
      Infection Biology Inflammation & Immunity Neurosciences Ophthalmic Research Quantitative Health Sciences Translational Hematology & Oncology Research
    • Centers & Programs
      Advanced Musculoskeletal Imaging Angiogenesis Center Cardiovascular Diagnostics & Prevention Computational Life Sciences Consortium for Pain Genitourinary Malignancies Research
      Microbiome & Human Health Musculoskeletal Research Northern Ohio Alcohol Center Pathogen & Human Health Research Populations Health Research Therapeutics Discovery
  • Core Services
    • Ohio
      3D Printing BioRobotics & Mechanical Testing Cell Culture Cleveland Clinic BioRepository Computational Immunology Platform Computing Services Discovery Lab Electron Microscopy Electronics Engineering Flow Cytometry
      Genomic Medicine Institute Biorepository Genomics Glassware Histology Hybridoma Immunohistochemistry Immunomonitoring Lab Instrument Refurbishing & Repair Laboratory Diagnostic Lerner Research Institute BioRepository
      Light MicroscopyMechanical Prototyping Microbial Culturing & Engineering Microbial Sequencing & Analytics Resources Media Preparation Molecular Biotechnology Nitinol Polymer Proteomics & Metabolomics Therapeutics Discovery
    • Florida
      Bioinformatics
      Flow Cytometry
      Imaging
  • Education & Training
    • Graduate Programs Molecular Medicine PhD Program Postdoctoral Program
      Research Intensive Summer Experience (RISE) Undergraduate & High School Programs
  • News
  • Careers
    • Faculty Positions Research Associate & Project Staff Postdoctoral Positions
      Technical & Administrative
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • About
  • Science
    • Scientific Programs
    • Laboratories
    • Clinical & Translational Research
    • Departments
      Biomedical Engineering Cancer Biology Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences Florida Research & Innovation Center Genomic Medicine Immunotherapy & Precision Immuno-Oncology
      Infection Biology Inflammation & Immunity Neurosciences Ophthalmic Research Quantitative Health Sciences Translational Hematology & Oncology Research
    • Centers & Programs
      Advanced Musculoskeletal Imaging Angiogenesis Center Cardiovascular Diagnostics & Prevention Computational Life Sciences Consortium for Pain Genitourinary Malignancies Research
      Microbiome & Human Health Musculoskeletal Research Northern Ohio Alcohol Center Pathogen & Human Health Research Populations Health Research Therapeutics Discovery
  • Core Services
    • All Cores
    • Ohio
      3D Printing BioRobotics & Mechanical Testing Cell Culture Cleveland Clinic BioRepository Computational Immunology Platform Computing Services Discovery Lab Electron Microscopy Electronics Engineering Flow Cytometry
      Genomic Medicine Institute BiorepositoryGenomics Glassware Histology Hybridoma Immunohistochemistry Immunomonitoring Lab Instrument Refurbishing & Repair Laboratory Diagnostic Lerner Research Institute BioRepository
      Light MicroscopyMechanical Prototyping Microbial Culturing & Engineering Microbial Sequencing & Analytics Resources Media Preparation Molecular Biotechnology Nitinol Polymer Proteomics & Metabolomics Therapeutics Discovery
    • Florida
      Bioinformatics
      Flow Cytometry
      Imaging
  • Education & Training
    • Research Education & Training Center
    • Graduate Programs Molecular Medicine PhD Program Postdoctoral Program
      Research Intensive Summer Experience (RISE) Undergraduate & High School Programs
  • News
  • Careers
    • Faculty Positions Research Associate & Project Staff Postdoctoral Positions
      Technical & Administrative
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Search

Research News

❮News Cleveland Clinic Study Finds No Association Between Influenza Vaccine and COVID-19 Risk

09/21/2020

Cleveland Clinic Study Finds No Association Between Influenza Vaccine and COVID-19 Risk

Using patient data from Cleveland Clinic’s COVID-19 registry, Dr. Zein found that receiving the flu vaccine does not increase risk for COVID-19 or worsen associated disease outcomes, suggesting it is safe and advisable to receive the influenza vaccine this flu season.

In a new article published online ahead of press in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, researchers from Cleveland Clinic report that receiving the influenza vaccine does not increase a person’s risk for contracting COVID-19 or worsen associated morbidity or mortality.

Led by Joe Zein, MD, a practicing pulmonologist in the Respiratory Institute and lead author on the study, the research team analyzed more than 13,000 patients tested for COVID-19 at Cleveland Clinic (Ohio and Florida locations) between early March and mid-April of this year.

Comparing those who had received unadjuvanted influenza vaccines in the fall or winter of 2019 (4,138 patients) against those who did not received the vaccine (9,082 patients) revealed that influenza vaccination was not associated with increased COVID-19 incidence or disease severity, including risk for hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit or mortality.

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

Since much is still unknown about the possible outcomes of concurrent SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and influenza infection—including disease pathology and burden to the healthcare system—researchers and clinicians believe that the population’s adherence to widespread and early flu vaccination while researchers continue to collect data will help to mitigate the risk of simultaneous viral infections and epidemics/pandemics.

“We have already seen the stress that COVID-19 can put on our hospitals and resources,” said Dr. Zein. “While we’re not yet sure how flu season will affect COVID-19 susceptibility and infections, we strongly advise people to get their influenza vaccines, both for their individual health and the collective health of our care systems.”

This study is the latest to utilize data from patients enrolled in Cleveland Clinic’s COVID-19 Registry, which includes all individuals tested at Cleveland Clinic for the disease, not just those that test positive. Cleveland Clinic was one of the first organizations to develop a data registry and biobank for the emergent disease. Data from the registry has already been used in several landmark COVID-19 studies, including those that have led to the development of models that can predict a patient’s likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19 and being hospitalized due to COVID-19.

Serpil Erzurum, MD, chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute and a practicing pulmonologist in the Respiratory Institute, was a co-author on the study.

Featured Experts

Serpil Erzurum Headshot

Serpil Erzurum, MD

Staff
Chair, Lerner Research Institute
Chief Research & Academic Officer, Cleveland Clinic
Lab Profile

Want To Support Ground-Breaking Research at Cleveland Clinic?

Discover how you can help Cleveland Clinic save lives and continue to lead the transformation of healthcare.

Give to Cleveland Clinic

About Lerner

About Us Careers Contact Us Donate People Directory

Science

Clinical & Translational Research Core Services Departments, Centers & Programs Laboratories Research News

Education & Training

Graduate Programs Molecular Medicine PhD Program Postdoctoral Program RISE Program Undergraduate & High School Programs

Site Information & Policies

Search Site Site Map Privacy Policy Social Media Policy

9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44195 | © 2023 Lerner Research Institute