COVID-19 precautions appear to crush flu season, doctors say as coronavirus sinks in California

SAN FRANCISCO – In the midst of a growing pandemic, doctors are credited with masking, washing their hands and distancing themselves from the arrest of a virulent disease that is on their way: the flu.

“White skin is we’re not seeing the flu. The flu is almost absent,” said Dr. Andra Blomkalns, director of emergency medicine at Stanford Health.

“There is no doubt that this year is an extraordinary year,” Drs. Randy Bergen, a flu expert at Kaiser Permanente, told ABC7 News that in early January, California would normally see a positive increase in flu cases, but not this year.

“We’re still testing thousands of people in our emergency room and our hospitals to find a combination of COVID and flu tests, and we essentially don’t see the flu. Some weeks we won’t have cases, others we’ll have maybe one or two cases. “.

Some say that all precautions taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 keep flu cases at bay. But if they are so effective with one virus, why not the other?

“It’s a big question,” said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a Stanford professor of global health, who explained that part of the answer could be in pre-coronavirus studies in recent years that revealed strange competition between viruses.

“It could be something that infection with one virus can somehow decrease the risk of infection with others,” Maldonado said. “Now, whether it’s immunity or just suppressing the growth of another virus, it’s not really clear, but there’s certainly an idea from a couple of years ago that viruses can compete.”

Another contributing factor: many more people received flu shots this year.

And a lot of kids aren’t at school and they don’t meet up with friends almost as often as they normally would.

“The flu always starts in schools. It starts with the kids,” Bergen said.

Experts warn people not to lower their guard. There is still plenty of time this winter for the flu to return.