Protecting Heart Health: Flu Vaccines and Beyond

Flu vaccines and COVID-19

Bogdana Coudsy, Global Head of Medical Affairs for Vaccines, explains the importance of flu shot timing: “The peak of the annual flu epidemic has become more unpredictable since COVID-19 began circulating.⁵ So the best plan is to get vaccinated early in the fall, at the start of countries’ vaccination campaigns,” she said.

Coudsy further advises, “You don’t need to choose between a flu shot and a COVID-19 booster. The World Health Organization (WHO) and multiple country health authorities have provided positive guidance on coadministration of a flu vaccine with a COVID-19 booster. At Sanofi, we have reported positive data on coadministration of our high dose flu vaccine and an mRNA COVID-19 booster”.^{6,7,8,9,10,11}

High-risk hearts

In addition to helping reduce the risks of flu-related heart attacks through vaccination, we’re also helping prevent recurrent heart attacks in cardiovascular patients at most risk.

“Unfortunately, most people who have a second heart attack within 90 days of a first one will die within five years,”¹² says Luciana Giangrande, Global Cardiovascular Medical Head.

Sanofi is one of the companies able to offer a complete range of solutions for high-risk cardiovascular patients and their physicians. These medicines enable them to reduce lipid levels, prevent heart attacks and strokes, and even save lives. That’s why we’re working with the global cardiology specialist community on a new kind of program.

Bridging gaps in cardiovascular care

Our Pulse Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) Pathway program¹³ is helping bridge gaps in cardiovascular care. Because medical guidelines can change when new therapies or protocols become available, it can be challenging for doctors to keep up with the latest developments. ACS Pathway offers several solutions.

New tools for doctors and hospitals

We’ve rolled out a self-check tool that allows doctors to verify their current clinical practice scientifically against the latest treatment guidelines from medical societies. These checks help doctors understand and update their practice of interacting with at-risk ACS patients, from the acute phase to hospital discharge, through follow-ups and referrals.

The program also supports the use of patient management protocols in hospitals to ensure the optimal care appropriate for each patient’s risk level.

We’re also developing new initiatives to improve standardization in treatment approaches to ACS patients and their doctors in different health care systems around the world.

From helping to reduce everyone’s risks of a heart attack from influenza to helping prevent recurrent heart attacks for cardiovascular patients most at risk, it’s our way of using heart for every heart.