Thousands of American lives have been lost over the past year to the novel coronavirus, but one historically deadly disease has fallen back this season: the flu, which according to federal health estimates has killed only one child this year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 200 lives were lost in childhood during the 2019-2020 flu season.
There are only 1499 clinically confirmed cases of flu this year, according to estimates by the CDC, which also shows that hospitalizations related to flu are significantly lower this season than in previous seasons.
Between October 1 – the beginning of the flu season – and February 20, there were approximately 183 laboratory-confirmed flu hospitalizations, representing a total cumulative hospitalization rate of 0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants per CDC.
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“It is much lower than the average for this point in the season and lower than the rates for any season since the collection of routine data in 2005, including the low severity 2011-12 season. During the 2011-12 season. “The rate was 2.2 times higher at this point in the season. Figures for hospitalization by age will be offered as soon as the number of cases rises to a level that provides stable rates by age,” the agency said.
Experts who previously spoke to Fox News about the country’s lower-than-usual flu activity this year said that preventive measures to protect against COVID-19 – such as wearing masks, social distance, regular hand washing and avoiding indoor crowds – are likely played a role in keeping flu.
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School closures probably also played a role, as early research suggests that children transmit the flu virus better than COVID-19, Drs. Abisola Olulade, a GP in California, said at the time.
Olulade also pointed out that although some people may suggest that people did not test for the flu in the midst of the coronavirus, the positivity rate of those who stayed lower than usual indicates that the virus spread in the community was indeed low and that it was not a matter of what test was performed.
Fox News’ Alexandria Hein contributed to this report.