Since more than 28 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the United States, with 520,000 deaths during the course of the coronavirus pandemic, the flu season this year has been virtually non-existent.
According to data of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only 0.1 percent of samples tested across the country tested positive for influenza. This contrasts sharply with about 20 to 30 percent of positive cases recorded during recent flu seasons.
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The CDC also reports that only one child died in the U.S. from the flu this season, compared to 195 American children who died in total during the 2019-2020 flu season.
There has also been a significant decline in influenza deaths among US adults, with about 450 influenza-related deaths so far this year. About 22,000 people died during the 2019-2020 flu season.
Public health experts say that school closings, remote work and precautions such as hand washing, masking and social detachment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have probably led to a very low number of flu cases, deaths and hospitalizations.
In December, the CDC said that a record number of flu vaccinations were administered after public health officials urged the public to get the flu vaccine and warned of a “twindemia” of hospitals that cause strains on influenza and COVID-19.
“I think it clearly showed that masking, distance, washing your hands – all of these things work clearly,” said Aaron Milstone, an epidemiologist and professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University. The Washington Post. “So, I think the question will be: how much appetite do people have for all this to prevent the flu, instead of just COVID.”
Health officials have warned, however, that the next flu season could be unusually worse, as people are not being exposed to the flu this year and more people will be susceptible to being infected.
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