Is it the flu season now? Why the 2021-202 flu season is protracted

The flu season usually hits the United States from late fall to spring and peaks in December-February, but as the first day of summer approaches, hospitals across the country still see a surge in flu. CDC June 10th Weekly U.S. Influenza Monitoring Report “The flu season continues to be epidemic and is increasing in activity in parts of the country,” he said.

“(We) have had a significantly longer influenza season, which began around Thanksgiving around 2021 and continues to be the case,” said a pediatric infectious disease epidemiologist at the Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. Dr. Andrew Pavia said.

“Influenza circulates at high levels out of season in the United States and elsewhere in the world,” said Dr. Scott Hensley, a professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania, today, a decision on infectivity. Dr. Tosh, a doctor and researcher at the Mayo Clinic, added that the number of cases finally began to decline within the past few weeks. “It’s very rare to see a case in June so far,” he said today.

There was a “perfect storm” of conditions that contributed to Unexpectedly long flu seasonSaid Tosh.

“In a particular flu season, about 10% of the population is expected to become infected and develop some degree of innate immunity for the next flu season,” he explained. “However, Almost non-existent influenza season Over the last two years (due to COVID restrictions), innate immunity has not occurred, making more people more susceptible to illness. “

Another factor is the masking and social distance-shaking approach in response to COVID waves.For example, the January surge in Omicron may have contributed to the second half. Influenza seasonAccording to Dr. Sandranelson, Associate Clinical Director of the Infectious Diseases Division at Massachusetts General Hospital, influenza cases increased as expected in December, but suddenly when people began to distance themselves from masking in response to Omicron. Diminished. “Then, influenza cases began to increase again in March, which correlated with the end of mask duty and relaxation of other distance measurements,” Nelson explained.

Besides, Influenza vaccines this season are not exactly the same With the influenza strain that dominates this season, it can lead to more cases and more serious illnesses. And since many vaccinated people fired in August or September last year, Tosh said they were still more susceptible to the virus still spreading near the summer.

Despite the unique challenges of the 2021-202 flu season, experts emphasize that all flu seasons are unique and there is no reason to be wary just because the flu season is different from the previous one. doing. “Physicians say that if you see one flu season, you see one flu season,” Tosh said. “The flu season is unpredictable.”

Nelson repeated similar feelings. “In warm climates, the flu season usually begins in late autumn, peaks in February and declines in April, but varies considerably from year to year.”

One of the benefits of the current flu season is that hospitals are not as flooded as feared, even though high case rates have lasted longer than usual. “Before the start of the season, we were preparing for an overwhelming number of new cases,” Tosh explained. “Fortunately, our worst fear never happened. The number of cases has been prolonged, but the overall amplitude is low.”

It’s not clear exactly when this flu season will end, but Tosh and Nelson agreed that numbers are expected to decline in the coming weeks.

Many of the well-known preventative measures in pandemics Protect yourself from the flu — Dr. David Brett-Major, an epidemiologist at the Department of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, advised on vaccination, hand hygiene, wearing masks (especially in high-risk environments), and avoiding sick people.

Hensley had a similar view. “The flu vaccine is clearly the best preventive measure against the flu,” he counseled. “Even in years of antigen mismatch, influenza vaccines prevent serious illness and death.”

Experts also emphasized the importance of staying at home when you are feeling in the weather. “One of the human behaviors that seems to have changed the pandemic permanently is that” power-through “when feeling sick at school or at work is no longer considered acceptable.” Tosh explains. “People have finally learned that they should stay home when they have symptoms, and one action really reduces the spread of the disease.”