This winter was a complete nightmare for Americans, thanks to the violent covid-19 pandemic. But new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continued to show a positive point: the flu has been suppressed to some of the lowest levels ever recorded. It is likely that interventions designed to slow the spread of covid-19, such as avoiding meetings and wearing masks, helped to stop the less contagious flu on its way, and more people than usual got the flu shot.
All 50 states are experiencing minimal activity at the moment, in what could normally be the end of the peak flu season, and the overall flu season has been smooth from start to finish. According to the CDC, the cumulative rate of hospitalization for influenza in the country is lower than during a flu season dating back to 2005, when the country began to routinely collect this type of data. And perhaps most importantly, only a single pediatric flu death has been reported this winter. Compare that to the brutal, record Flu season 2017-2018, when it’s over 60.000 Americans, including 186 children, died of the viral disease.
The numbers, while great news, are somewhat unexpected. Last fall, many scientists were genuinely worried about the possibility of a “twindemia” of flu and covid-19. Covid-19 has certainly done its job, with more deaths and hospitalizations this winter than anywhere else in the pandemic. However, evidences in other countries that contracted the flu earlier this year, this season would be light, for very understandable reasons.
Although both influenza and covid-19 are caused by viruses that spread through the respiratory system through infectious aerosols and droplets, for example, coronavirus is more contagious than the common flu virus. Therefore, interventions that decrease a person’s chance of spreading covid-19, such as washing their hands frequently, wearing a mask, or just keeping their distance, are probably even more effective for the flu. This can be especially important when it comes to schools, as children tend to cause flu outbreaks in normal times. Vaccination is also likely to play a role. The first data have suggested that vaccine absorption is higher than in recent years, and the highest rates have been credited other countries’ success in keeping flu levels low.
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The flu is not the only disease that has been suppressed thanks to measures related to the pandemic. Last summer, an expected increase in children who develop polio-like paralysis never happened, as infection rates common cold virus that can cause it to decrease at the same time. Other common diseases, such as norovirus, also decreased last year.
Of course, trying to stay safe during the pandemic had its social and mental costs. And the lull in these seasonal illnesses could to mean that we will see spikes in these illnesses when people return to their normal routines. But there is a lesson for future flu seasons: we may never be able to eradicate the flu, but a little more washing our hands, vaccinating and staying at home when we are sick – or wearing a mask when we are sick and need to get out – should, without doubt, make it less of a seasonal threat.