Flu cases virtually non-existent thanks to COVID-19 measures

Thanks in no small part to social distancing and wearing masks – as well as greater use of the flu vaccine – flu deaths this season are almost non-existent.

Why is this important: The drastic drop in influenza infections and other circulating respiratory viruses has given the U.S. health care system a welcome respite at a time when COVID-19 is rampant.

In numbers: According to the CDC, the United States recorded just five influenza deaths in week 52 of 2020, a time that typically represents the peak of influenza season.

• That’s 40 times fewer deaths than the same week in 2019 and more than 130 times fewer deaths than in the bad flu season of 2017.
• According to data from BioFire Diagnostics, the levels of almost all common respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses are currently nearly undetectable.

How it works: It turns out that if you drastically reduce travel around the world, close public workplaces and schools, and encourage the wearing of masks and hand washing, you will reduce the chances of the spread of common pathogens.

• It’s also helpful that a record number of flu vaccine doses were shipped this season, and that 53-54% of U.S. adults had been vaccinated by the end of December, which is significantly higher. than at the same time last year.

The big picture: Historically low levels of influenza and other common viruses are occurring at the same time as the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is at its worst.

• This is not surprising: while common viruses have been circulating for years and there is a basic level of resistance in the population, no one had encountered SARS-CoV-2 before it emerged in China ago. one year, and the virus continues to spread rapidly through the vulnerable population.

What to watch: With each week that passes with abnormally low flu levels, susceptibility to the virus will increase, which could lead to a sharp rebound in the United States in the future.

• Perhaps this is happening in Australia, where flu cases during its winter season were virtually non-existent, only to rebound in December, when the flu is generally absent in the southern hemisphere.

The bottom line: While it’s good to see fewer flu deaths, SARS-CoV-2 is ravaging the United States on an entirely different scale, with more Americans dying from COVID-19 last week than the total number flu deaths last season.