LEWISTON – There’s one bit of good news amid all the bad of the pandemic: flu cases in Maine have dropped to a fraction of what they were a year ago.
At this time last year, it was confirmed that 919 people have the flu across the country. This year it is 47.
Maine has not seen such low flu numbers since the 2015-16 flu season, when there were only 36 cases in December last week.
Experts believe that the precautions people take against COVID-19, including social distance, wearing masks and washing hands, are likely to cause the dramatic decline in flu cases. It could also be the fact that many people have been getting the flu vaccine this year.
“The low level of flu we see in Maine is consistent with what the rest of the country is experiencing,” said Anna Krueger, an epidemiologist at the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention, which specializes in reporting and analyzing flu.
Last year was a particularly bad season for confirmed flu cases and for reports of flu-like illnesses in Maine and nationally. There were some questions as to whether flu-like illnesses were actually an early emergence of COVID-19.
Androscoggin County had 47 flu cases last year, but has only had five so far. Oxford County has had 26 cases, but has only one this season. Franklin had 31 last year and has had nothing so far this season.
Cumberland County had 100 cases this year last year. It now has only 22 cases.
By this time last year, every country had confirmed flu cases. Seven provinces have had nothing so far this year.
By the end of December last year, 56 people had been admitted to hospital and four people had died of the flu. No one in Maine has been hospitalized and no one has died of the flu so far this season.
Even compared to other years, the flu cases in Maine are significantly down. By the last week of December 2018, Maine had 313 cases. By the last week of December 2017, it had 546.
Flu season usually starts in October and can last until May. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu cases usually peak between December and February.
Last year, Maine ended the season with more than 10,000 confirmed cases of flu. In 2015-’16, when Maine saw very low numbers by December, the state ended up with less than 2,400 cases. It is still unclear whether flu numbers will remain low this season.
“The type of flu and the timing of the flu circulation varies every year. It is therefore difficult to predict when and how serious the flu season will be, ”Krueger said. “Although we are currently seeing low levels of circulating flu, it is still possible that it will increase in the coming months.”
Experts say people who have not yet received their flu shot should still consider it.
“It protects you and the people around you,” said John Alexander, chief medical officer for Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston. “It also helps the healthcare system by reducing the possibility of an influx of flu patients when it fights the coronavirus.”
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