In October, the state health department urged South Carolina residents not to forget their flu vaccine as COVID-19 spread and news of a vaccine was approaching.
“This could be the most important flu vaccine of your life,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, interim director of public health for the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control.
She and many other public health experts were concerned about the possibility of a “twindemia”, with seasonal flu and cases of COVID-19 getting worse and overwhelming the state’s health system.
Instead, what followed was the mildest flu season in recent history.
In South Carolina, less than 100 people have been hospitalized with the flu this season. It is normal for hospitalizations to reach thousands. Although the flu season is far from over, virus activity generally begins to increase towards the end of the year and in recent years it has remained widespread until April.
This is not the case this year.
Dr. Valerie Scott, a doctor in the Roper St. Francis Healthcare family, said it is the mildest flu season she remembers. At his clinic, Scott said he was seeing patients who had never had the flu shot. And she said on another important shift, people are working remotely or stay home without working when they are sick.
Scott said the public should not forget what works when next year’s flu season arrives.
“What we did worked,” she said. “So, let’s do it again.”
Across the country, only one pediatric death from influenza has been reported so far this flu season. Since 2004, the seasonal average of infant deaths has been 125, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, this flu season has not been painless: 13 people in South Carolina have died of the flu so far. In that sense, it is not a record season. The 2011-2012 season saw only one death in South Carolina, according to DHEC records. In contrast, during the 2017-2018 season, nearly 300 South Carolinaians died.
Dr. Colby Grossman of Palmetto Primary Care in Summerville said that the low prevalence of influenza would probably not be a factor in fewer tests. Patients who experience flu-like symptoms in Grossman’s practice should first have a COVID-19 test. If the result is negative, Grossman said the patient will come for a visit to the office and a flu test can be done next.
“Just because a COVID test was negative, you really haven’t finished,” he said. “That person is still sick.”
But he hasn’t had a positive flu test this year.
Grossman said that many of his patients who would never have chosen to have the flu vaccine agreed to take it last year. Although DHEC does not release flu vaccination numbers across the state, the CDC says that 193.4 million people have received the vaccine across the country, an increase of 4 million over last year.
Grossman put the reasons for a mild flu season simply: there is strong evidence that wearing a mask prevents the spread of the disease, and as the flu spreads through direct contact, social detachment has been effective in preventing it.
With responsible people following these rules, COVID-19 will not be the only disease they will avoid.
The effectiveness of each seasonal flu vaccine also varies, and Grossman said it is possible that this year has been a lucky year.
Catch up Mary Katherine Wildeman at 843-607-4312. Follow her on Twitter @mkwildeman.