The flu season has been virtually non-existent this season, with the lowest hospitalization rate since these data have been accounted for.
Only 165 flu-related hospitalizations were recorded between October 1 and February 6, according to recent information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This compares with approximately 400,000 people hospitalized during the 2019-2020 flu season, which also recorded 22,000 deaths.
“This is below average for this point in the season and lower than rates for any season since routine data collection began in 2005, including the low-gravity 2011-12 season,” the CDC said. .
With many schools closed, more children have stayed home during the global health crisis, which has likely helped stop the spread of the flu, NPR reported.
“COVID can be transmitted very easily among adults (very contagious), but the flu, I think, needs children to spread it among themselves and then sow, if you will, the adults in their home and their neighbors,” he said. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University, told the station’s “Weekend Edition.”
“Children are generally considered to have the flu virus distribution franchise,” he added. “They produce a lot more viruses, they shed more viruses over longer periods of time.”
Last year, a record number of people received the flu vaccine amid warnings from health experts about the unprecedented combination of flu season and the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
Nearly 52% of people 6 months or older were inoculated, a 2.6% increase over the previous season, the CDC said.
The mild season has also been helped by COVID-19 security measures, including mask doors and social distancing.
“The flu has been essentially non-existent” this season, Schaffner said.
But he also warned that the flu could return with a vengeance in the fall.
“Many of us didn’t get a boost when we came across the flu virus this year and so we haven’t had a chance to build up our antibodies,” he said. “It’s much more important to get vaccinated this fall.”