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- With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to increase, the seasonal flu is slowly taking off.
- Some health experts have anticipated a milder influenza season due to pandemic restrictions in place.
- It’s unclear how the flu season will continue to play out.
The flu season is slowly starting in the United States, according to
Iowa is currently the only jurisdiction to see significant influenza activity, but even there transmission remains low.
Overall, the percentage of respiratory samples that have tested positive for influenza so far is 0.1 percent, which is significantly lower than what the country has reported at this time in recent years.
The CDC reported Friday that influenza-like illness (ILI) levels are 1.3%, which is below the national baseline of 2.6%.
Much of that, however, is likely due to illness linked to COVID-19, according to the CDC.
“There is less influenza activity now than what we have seen at this time in previous years. Very few influenza viruses are detected, ”a CDC spokesperson told Healthline.
Some health experts have anticipated a milder flu season, at least initially, due to pandemic restrictions in place that have resulted in historically low flu rates in the summer months.
The low activity we’re seeing right now doesn’t mean we’re free from twindemia, where the new coronavirus and the flu are swirling around. There is still plenty of time for the flu to hit.
“Most of the time, influenza activity
Since November 6, the United States has experienced low transmission of influenza across the country.
Iowa is the only jurisdiction currently reporting a noticeable increase in cases.
Overall, however, only 0.1% of respiratory samples tested positive for influenza.
This is much less than what has been recorded at this time in recent flu seasons.
Last year around this time,
During this week of
The same is true for the 2017-18 influenza season, which at that time had a positive result of 3.4% in the samples tested, a clear pattern of increasing cases of strain A, and increasing activity in Louisiana and South Carolina as well as other southern states.
The slow start to this year’s flu season can likely be attributed to restrictions in place to tackle COVID-19 – like wearing masks, physical distancing, and avoiding crowded places.
“Masks and social distancing should reduce all viruses, be it cold coronaviruses, flu and of course COVID-19,” says Dr. Len Horovitz, pulmonologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York .
In many Asian countries, masks are used extensively during flu season, allowing them to reduce their flu count, according to Horovitz.
“I think that’s what we see here,” he said.
This summer, as people masked themselves and stood at a distance from each other, the country saw
Unlike in previous years when many cases fueled the spread of the flu around the beginning of November, the flu has not taken hold in the United States.
As a result, influenza cases have not yet increased, even though COVID-19 cases are increasing.
“There has to be enough flu in the community to explode like flu bombs,” says Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). “If there are only a few people with the flu, it’s probably not going to be bad in the community.”
It’s unclear how the flu season will continue to play out.
On the one hand, many states encourage people to continue to wear masks and practice physical distancing.
These precautions used to combat the transmission of COVID-19 may also offset the spread of influenza, as the two viruses spread in similar ways.
But some states, like Florida and Texas, relaxed their restrictions prematurely.
Some health experts suspect that areas with relaxed restrictions may soon see spikes in flu cases.
In addition, the flu season usually peaks between December and February.
“We are at the start of flu season, I think I’m still holding my breath because the flu lasts for a while, probably until February, and if there are a lot of people who don’t believe in wearing mask, it’s only a matter of time before they catch a lot of different things – not just COVID, but the flu, ”Chin-Hong says.
The key message, experts say, is not to let your guard down.
Continue to wash your hands, wear a mask, and most importantly, get the flu shot.
“If you don’t get the flu shot and wear a mask when you’re supposed to, your chances of getting the flu or COVID-19 or a cold are going to be higher,” Horovitz says.
New data from the CDC shows influenza activity is low across the country. Typically, influenza activity begins to increase around early November, but health experts suspect that pandemic restrictions in place have canceled the start of this year’s influenza season.
Now is not the time to let our guard down. Influenza can strike again this year, especially in areas where pandemic restrictions are relaxed.
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