Covid-19 Almost Eliminated The Flu – How To Stop It From Coming Back?

The flu, which is usually rampant throughout the northern hemisphere at this time of year, has become virtually invisible.

It’s a small bright spot in the middle of Covid-19, although the number of people saved from influenza death is pale next to the number of people who have died from the new pandemic. It also presents questions that doctors around the world are likely to wrestle with for years to come: If the flu can be almost eliminated this season, why not every season? What measures do the most to stop the flu from spreading?

“This is an extremely confusing phenomenon. We are in a historic and incredible situation, ”said Norio Sugaya, a pediatrician who sits on the World Health Organization’s influenza committee.

The WHO says the measures people and governments are taking to prevent the spread of Covid-19, such as wearing masks and limiting public gatherings, have likely helped control the flu. Rising flu vaccination rates may also be contributing to this, he says.

Another hypothesis argues that the wide spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, in countries like the United States, could play a role in blocking the flu by boosting people’s immunity against it. other viruses. A spring 2020 study in New York City found that people who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were much less likely to be carriers of other common viruses such as influenza viruses. Yet research into this hypothesis is only just beginning.