This winter has been a complete nightmare for Americans, thanks to the covid-19 pandemic rage. But new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keep on to show a bright spot: the flu has been suppressed to the lowest levels recorded. It is likely that interventions aimed at slowing the spread of covid-19, such as avoiding meetings and the use of masks, have helped stop the less contagious flu on its track and more people than usual received the vaccine against grip.
All 50 states are experiencing minimal activity at the moment, in what could normally be the end of the queue for the maximum flu period, and the global flu season has been peaceful from start to finish. According to the CDC, the country’s cumulative hospitalization rate for the flu is lower than it had during a flu season dating back to 2005, when the country began routinely collecting such data. And perhaps most importantly, only one pediatric flu death has been reported this winter. Contrast this with the brutal, register 2017-2018 flu season, when it ends 60.000 Americans, including 186 children, died from viral disease.
The numbers, while good news, are a bit unexpected. Last fall, many scientists really were worried on the possibility of a “twindemia” of influenza and covid-19. Certainly, Covid-19 has withstood the end of the negotiation, with more deaths and hospitalizations this winter than any other point in the pandemic. Still, there had been tests in other countries that experienced the flu earlier this year this season would be mild, for very understandable reasons.
Although both influenza and covid-19 are caused by viruses that spread through the respiratory system through aerosols and infectious drops, for example, coronavirus is more contagious than the garden variety influenza virus. Therefore, interventions that reduce a person’s chances of spreading covid-19, such as frequent hand washing, use of masks, or simply keeping a distance, are likely to be even more effective for the flu. This could be especially important when it comes to schools, as children tend to be drivers of flu outbreaks in normal times. Vaccination is also likely to play an important role. The first data suggested that vaccine uptake is higher than in recent years, and there have been higher rates accredited for the success of other countries in keeping flu levels low.
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Influenza is not the only disease that has been suppressed thanks to pandemic-related measures. Last summer there was no expected increase in children developing polio-like paralysis, as infection rates of the disease common cold virus this can cause it to decrease at the same time. Other common diseases, such as norovirus, have also taken a bath in the last year.
Of course, trying to stay safe during the pandemic has not meant its social and mental costs. And the calm of these seasonal diseases could to mean that we will see peaks of these diseases once people return to their normal routine. But there is a lesson for future flu seasons: we may never be able to eradicate the flu, but a little more than washing our hands, getting vaccinated, and staying home when you’re sick or wearing a mask when you are sick and you have to get out. make it less of a seasonal threat.