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While the coronavirus continues to plague the United States, the country has also seen a sharp decline in flu cases.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officials know only one child in the U.S. who died of the flu this season, while there have been hundreds of deaths in previous years.
During the 2019-2020 flu season, the CDC reported that 195 children had died from the flu. Experts believe that although the flu virus continues in March and April, fewer people are infected due to the existing immunity and precautions that already exist due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think the eradication of the flu epidemic, which has been seen worldwide, tells us that the way flu is transmitted from one person to another could really be affected more than anything else by the use of masks,” Flor Munoz said. , a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases, says The Washington Post.
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Munoz explained that wearing masks has proven useful because it can limit the spread of the drops with flu. Dominant pathogens, such as the coronavirus, can also displace other viruses by conferring partial immunity.
These factors, plus the flu vaccine and the existing immunity, made it difficult for the flu to circulate.
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As such, only 0.1 percent of flu tests return positive, compared to 20 to 30 percent at this time in other years, said Lynnette Brammer, who leads the CDC’s domestic flu monitoring team.
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While the number of flu has remained low this year, experts warn that the virus is expected to be back in full swing next fall and winter if COVID-19 restrictions come up.
However, if people still wear their masks and social distance, deaths from flu and infections could remain low next season.
“I think it clearly showed that masking, removal, hand washing – all of these things clearly work,” added Aaron Milstone, an epidemiologist and professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University. “So I think the question will be how many people have the appetite to prevent flu, instead of just lusting.”
Brammer also added that it is not too late that the flu will increase in the current season if coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
“We could have a maybe small, but late, flu season. Just really hard to say,” she said.
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