Question 3: What about the influenza vaccines? Why would an annual influenza vaccination campaign be wise, but the mass COVID vaccination campaign be unwise?

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QUESTIONS PARENTS MIGHT WANT TO ASK THEIR PHYSICIANS:

Question 3: What about the influenza vaccines? Why would an annual influenza vaccination campaign be wise, but the mass COVID vaccination campaign be unwise? Is it because, compared to the COVID vaccination campaign, the annual flu vaccination campaign is not as massive, does not involve vaccination across all age groups (it is primarily given to the elderly and most vulnerable), and is not being given in the midst of a huge widespread pandemic? Are the influenza vaccines somehow more effectively neutralizing or more persistently neutralizing than COVID vaccines?

Response: You are partly correct—compared to the COVID vaccination campaign, the annual flu vaccination campaign is not as massive, does not involve vaccination across all age groups (it is primarily given to the elderly and most vulnerable), is not being given in the midst of such a large amount of circulating virus, and vaccinees are often receiving their vaccination well in advance of anticipated exposure. The influenza vaccines, however, are not considerably more effectively neutralizing or more persistently neutralizing than the COVID vaccines.