Last year, nearly 200 children died of the flu
Over the past year, we have fastened face masks and practiced social distance in an effort to slow down the spread of the new coronavirus. And although we tragically lost nearly 525,000 Americans to COVID-19, we have significantly reduced the number of cases and deaths associated with influenza, especially among children. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), only one child died of the flu this season in the US. In previous years, hundreds of children have died from the flu.
‘No new deaths related to influenza in children were reported to CDC during week 8. The total for the 2020-21 season is one, ‘reads the CDC’s weekly report.
5. And hardly no #flu means almost no children dying of flu. Only one death has been reported in children’s flu @CDCgov so far this season.
Hallelujah. pic.twitter.com/lBlgJKQS70– Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) 5 March 2021
According to the CDC, 195 children died during the 2019-20 flu season. But due to the masked wear among adults and children in recent years, the flu virus infects fewer people. According to Lynnette Brammer, head of the CDC Home Influenza Monitoring Team, only 0.1 percent of flu tests are returning positive this season; while in recent years 20 to 30 percent usually return positive.
4. More context. This year, the cumulative hospitalization rate for #flu illness for the season so far is 0.7 per 100,000 people.
By this time last year, it was 57.6 per 100,000 people. Wow. pic.twitter.com/BHN1zalOCD– Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) 5 March 2021
“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 influenced by the use of masks, more than anything else,” Flor said. Munoz, tells a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases The Washington Post.
By comparison, the 2018-19 season had 144 deaths in children with influenza and 188 during the 2017-18 season.
Adults are also experiencing a sharp drop in flu deaths this season, with about 450 so far this season compared to about 22,000 last year.
“I think it’s clearly shown that masking, removal, hand washing – all of these things clearly work,” says Aaron Milstone, an epidemiologist and professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University. the Washington Post. “So I think the question will be how many people have the appetite to prevent flu instead of just Covid?”
However, experts warn that the next flu season could be worse, as scientists have had a hard time determining which strain dominates this year, making it difficult to predict which strains will develop vaccinations for next year.
“They may not guess the right strains to stop the vaccine,” said Andrea Kovacs, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases in Children at the University of Southern California.
Kovac adds that the flu is not too late this season, especially if coronavirus restrictions are relaxed across the country.
“We might have a small, but late, flu season,” Kovac says. “Just hard to say.”