US feels relief from influenza infections as COVID-19 pandemic rages on

MADISON, Wisconsin. – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to plague the United States, the country feels relief from another popular respiratory illness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local doctors describe this flu season as exceptionally mild.

“This one hardly looks like an influenza season at all,” said UW Health infection control medical director Dr Nasia Safdar. “Usually it starts around November, December, a few weeks or a few weeks and continues through February or March.”

So far, UW Health has treated one patient for the flu during the 2020/2021 flu season. By that time, in the 2019/2020 season, they had treated 971 patients and 149 patients the previous season.

.@UWHealth treated a patient for the flu this year. ONLY ONE. Doctors say the steps we take to protect ourselves from COVID-19 also help us protect ourselves from other respiratory illnesses. # News3Now pic.twitter.com/032AW0mFJw

– Gabriella Bachara (@GabbyBachara) February 6, 2021

“Some seasons are better than others, but where we have barely any cases, I don’t remember that happening recently,” Safdar said.

A CDC map shows the state of Wisconsin and the country to have minimal influenza activity.

“Historically, almost unprecedented,” said Richard Keller, professor of medical history at UW-Madison.

Safdar and Keller both say there are many contributors to this mild season, the most obvious being the COVID-19 precautions.

“The masking, the hand hygiene, the fact of not participating in large gatherings, all of this helps reduce the transmission of influenza,” Safdar said.

Fewer international travel and fewer tests are also possible causes for the low number of cases.

It’s too difficult to say whether people will choose to wear a mask during future seasons of respiratory infection.

“People tend to think of the flu as a pretty mild and harmful illness, rather than the killer it certainly can be,” Keller said.

The reason Safdar is hoping people will hold back the pandemic is because he recognizes that when people are sick they should stay home.

“You shouldn’t go to school. You shouldn’t go to work, ”Safdar said. “This has always been the recommendation, but it was applied in varying ways and many people did not necessarily follow it.”

The only downside to a mild flu season is that it might be difficult to predict which strain might be popular next year and that affects vaccine planning, according to Keller.

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