The European Union executive urged member states on Wednesday to launch earlier and broader vaccination campaigns against flu this year to reduce the risk of simultaneous influenza and COVID-19 outbreaks in the autumn. The European Commission wants to head off the risk of hospitals being again overwhelmed by a surge of patients, as happened at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe in March and April. “Simultaneous outbreaks of seasonal influenza and COVID-19 would place a considerable strain on health systems,” the Commission said in a document that lists actions needed to gird for a possible large second wave of COVID-19 in the autumn. To avoid what the Commission’s vice president, Margaritis Schinas, called “a cocktail of risks,” it said EU governments this year should buy more shots against influenza and increase the number of people who are vaccinated.