COVID-19 precautions have reduced the number of influenza: Health Experts | COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease) (# Add parentheses on first appearance if there is no character limit

Due to the mix of COVID-19 precautions and vaccines, health officials said the flu this season was counterproductive in both conversation and number.

According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu season usually lasted from October to February, with fewer cases.

As of December 26, 2020, 27,987 patients had influenza-like illness (ILI), according to the latest data from the Tennessee Department of Health. As of December 28, 2019, that number was 45,292.

TDH reported two childhood flu deaths during the 2019 flu season. There was nothing in the 2020 season.

“In addition to the decline in numbers seen across the United States, countries in the Southern Hemisphere can usually preview what they see in response to seasonal changes, but the flu season is dramatically less and historically flu. The seasons were low, “said Dr. Harold Naramore, Chief Medical Officer at Brandt Memorial Hospital.

The reason for this worldwide decline in influenza cases is likely to be a direct result of precautionary measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, both breathing transmitted by mouth and nose droplets. It is a respiratory disease.

According to Naramore, coronavirus prophylaxis, especially wearing a mask, is very effective in preventing the flu.

“In my opinion, the adoption of masks is the most important puzzle piece in reducing the prevalence of influenza,” he said. “If you continue to use these protective measures, you can generally expect the virus to continue to decline.”

“Compared to last year’s flu season, this season’s flu cases have dropped significantly,” said Naramore, at the Braunt Memorial and its satellite clinic, East Tennessee Medical Group and its affiliates.

The decrease in influenza cases may also be due to an increase in the number of people who choose to be vaccinated against influenza. This was strongly encouraged by BMH in 2020, Naramore said.

“I wanted to avoid the dangerous combination of the flu season and COVID-19, so I wanted to make the flu season as light as possible,” he said.

According to a CDC report, in the September 2020 survey, 59% of respondents were or were expected to be vaccinated against the flu, compared to 52% in 2019.

In addition, health care workers were more likely to be vaccinated against influenza than non-healthcare workers, 74% vs. 58%.

According to Naramore, the hospital has given more than 19,000 flu shots in the first six weeks of its annual flu shot clinic. This is a 30% year-on-year increase.

Similar trends can be seen elsewhere.

As of November, pharmacist Hamilton Borden said the Blount Discount Pharmacy had 38% more flu shots than in 2019, adding that most of the flu shots will take place in October.

In anticipation of increased demand, Blount Discount Pharmacy ordered 25% more influenza vaccine than the previous year.

“They’re all exhausted,” Bowden said, adding that pharmacies had run out of high-dose flu vaccines for people over the age of 65 by November.

Naramore told the Daily Times in December that many patients at Brandt Memorial Hospital were the first to be vaccinated against the flu in 2020. “

However, only 3.2% of respondents in the CDC survey said they were not vaccinated against the flu because “they were already using precautions such as masking and social distance.”

Most respondents said they were opting out of flu shots because they didn’t feel the need for or simply didn’t want to be vaccinated against the flu.

Increased flu shots and precautions against the spread of respiratory illness may have contributed to the reduction of influenza cases, but the flu season is unpredictable and there is no way to determine the true cause of the decline.

“We may not have known it before,” said Borden.

Anyway, Naramore said there are few cases of influenza that are essential to ensuring the health of the community in the face of a pandemic.

“Given that COVID-19 has put a strain on the national healthcare system, it was a great blessing to have very few cases of influenza,” he said.

“In addition to what I experienced with COVID-19, if the flu season was bad, the consequences could be catastrophic.”