Largely due to social removal and mask wear – as well as a higher uptake of the flu vaccine – the deaths from flu are almost unbearable this season.
Why it matters: The drastic decline in infections from flu and other respiratory viruses circulating has given the U.S. health care system a welcome respite at a time when COVID-19 is about to begin.
By the numbers: According to the CDC, the US recorded only five flu deaths in the 52nd week of 2020, a period that usually represents the peak of the flu season.
- That’s 40 times fewer deaths than the same week in 2019, and more than 130 times fewer deaths than during the bad flu season of 2017.
- According to data from BioFire Diagnostics, the levels of almost every common respiratory and gastrointestinal virus are currently except undetectable.
How it works: It turns out that if you drastically reduce global travel, close public workplaces and schools, and promote mask wear and hand washing, you will spread the chance of spreading common pathogens.
- It also helps that a record number of flu vaccine doses have been shipped this season, with an estimated 53-54% of U.S. adults getting a chance by the end of December, significantly higher than the same time last year.
The whole picture: Historically low levels of flu and other common viruses occur at the same time that the COVID-19 pandemic is at its worst.
- This is not surprising: although common viruses have been spreading for years and there is a basic level of resistance in the population, no one encountered SARS-CoV-2 before it originated in China a year ago, and the virus continues to spread rapidly through vulnerable population.
What to look for: With each passing week exceptionally low flu levels, susceptibility to the virus will increase, which the US will likely recover in the future.
- This is perhaps what happened in Australia, where flu cases virtually did not exist during the winter season, only to return this December, when the flu is usually absent in the Southern Hemisphere.
The conclusion: While it’s good to see fewer flu deaths, SARS-CoV-2 is destroying the U.S. on a whole different scale, with more Americans dying from COVID-19 last week than the total number of flu deaths last season.