Since the launch of COVID-19 worldwide, influenza virus cases reported to the World Health Organization have plummeted to very few levels.
Articles posted on Scientific American Epidemiologists said they believed it was because public health measures were in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The flu virus infects in much the same way as the coronavirus, but is less effective when jumping from one host to another.
Last fall, the “decrease in influenza numbers” was reported to have been rapid and global. Since then, influenza cases have remained fairly low.
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Healthcare professionals say 2020 flu shots, combined with the flu epidemic and the second wave of COVID-19, will help prevent a “cold” that can overwhelm hospitals in a coronavirus pandemic. I was hoping for that.
There is no influenza circulation
According to Gregory Poland, who has been investigating the disease for 10 years at the Mayo Clinic, the flu is not prevalent. In the United States, about 600 people were killed by the flu during the flu season from 2020 to 2021.
In comparison, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that about 22,000 people died last season and about 34,000 a few seasons ago.
This year’s flu vaccine is based on a variant that was prevalent in the previous year, so it’s not clear how this year’s vaccine will work if the usual pattern of illness recurs.
fundamentally, WHO They made recommendations for influenza variants of the vaccine in late February, although they were based on far fewer cases than in normal years.
Twindemic
Before April 22 New York Times It has been reported that there are few cases of influenza in the United States. According to the CDC, about 2,000 cases have been reported and recorded since late September last year.
In addition, on news sites, as a measure to prevent diffusion, COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Infection) It spread nationwide in March last year, and the influenza virus disappeared rapidly and had not yet recurred.
The latest flu season, which would normally last until the following month, never happened in essence.
The absence of the flu virus was a coveted amnesty to ease the burden on the now overwhelming health care system, fearing that a “cold” could hit the United States.
However, underexposure to the flu can make the population more vulnerable to the virus when the virus recurs, experts say.
CDC epidemiologist Sonja Olsen said it was unclear when the flu would return to the United States, but it does.
Concerns of some health professionals
Public health experts say they are grateful for such amnesty, but some are also worried about the loss of the immune response.
After the flu virus has subsided for several years, today’s toddlers may miss the chance that their immune system will be imprinted with an initial response.
Some health experts have said that it can be good or bad, depending on which mutants are circulating during the rest of the lives of these children. For now, future influenza infections remain “dice eyes.”
To date, WHO has tracked influenza infections in 18 zones. Only about 5% of people who are tested for flu-like illness, usually those who get sick, are aggregated and recorded.
The relevant report is shown in the Korea Now YouTube video below.
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