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"Don’t you find it peculiar that during the entire COVID period, not a single case of ordinary flu seemed to be reported?"
Aside from the 700 deaths you overlooked? No. |
AI Overview
During the initial years of the COVID-19 pandemic, flu cases dropped to unprecedented lows because the public health measures used to curb the spread of COVID-19 were also highly effective against the less-transmissible influenza virus
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In the 2020–2021 flu season, the U.S. recorded only around 700 deaths from influenza, compared with over 30,000 in a typical pre-pandemic season. This decline was seen globally and surprised many public health experts.
Factors that reduced flu transmission
- Mask-wearing: Widespread mask usage significantly reduced the spread of respiratory droplets that transmit the flu.
- Social distancing: Physical distancing, limits on public gatherings, and bans on some public events directly reduced person-to-person contact.
- Stay-at-home measures: Lockdowns, remote work, and widespread school closures kept people at home and away from social mixing, removing a primary engine of flu transmission.
- Hand hygiene: Intensive public education campaigns encouraged frequent and thorough handwashing, which helped stop the spread of many infectious diseases.
- Reduced travel: International travel restrictions limited the global circulation of flu strains.
- Viral interference: Some researchers have explored the possibility that the dominance of SARS-CoV-2 crowded out other circulating respiratory viruses like the flu.
Flu has now re-emerged
Once COVID-19 restrictions were eased, influenza and other respiratory viruses, like RSV, began to circulate again. For the 2021–2022 season, the U.S. saw more flu activity than the previous season, and the season peaked unusually late, in April 2022. A strong resurgence of influenza activity demonstrates that the flu was not eliminated but was only temporarily suppressed by the public health measures used for COVID-19.
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