What about this event makes the flu shot more important than otherwise?

Flu is so common that people don't realise simple things like washing your hands and getting the shot would reduce the cost massively.

With Covid19 we can all see the cost, upfront and at the same time.

I'm wondering if we could actually kill the flu by sitting still for a bit. Say we stopped the world, which apparently is a possibility now. Would that get rid of it? And if it would, would it be worth it?

I'm no epidemiologist, but I doubt it. It just takes one infected person at the end of the global quarantine to get the ball rolling again.

More importantly, though, the flu (just like SARS-CoV-2) is zoonotic, meaning that it can jump from animals to humans. Even if every human was flu-free, influenza type A still lives on in birds for example, and there's an everpresent risk of it jumping to human beings.

“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

― Blaise Pascal, Pensées

Interesting thought. My understanding is rather that the converse is true: we're headed for a world where both flu and SARS-CoV-2 are endemic.

If you have taken your flu shot and get flu like symptoms there is now a larger chance that you are experiencing a mild Coronavirus. For you it's not that important a statistic, but if everyone had flu shots it would be beneficial.

Where I live it has been public policy to only recommend the flu shot to at risk groups.

Never really gave it much thought before. Now I strongly disagree with the policy

It's always important. People are learning a bit more about intensive care and the poor outcomes for people in ITUs. They're learning a bit more about respiratory illness and the impact it can have even if you don't die. They're also learning that flu isn't a trivial illness for quite a few people.

(EDIT: I didn't downvote you, and I don't think an honest question deserves downvotes.)

It has always been important.