As we know, can the United States end the flu season? | Health

The pandemic of respiratory illness was added to the catastrophe expected during the normal flu season, but the flu season from 2020 to 2021 simply did not appear. The metric for influenza collapse was exceptional. Last season, 195 childhood influenza deaths were seen. I saw one this season.Approximate estimate 45 million influenza-related diseases Left behind: By the last week of January 2021, the United States 925 cases Of the flu.

what happened? COVID-19 has occurred. More precisely, the social changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have occurred. Americans have embraced basic social practices such as social distance, masking, and temperature checks. American workplaces and workers have abandoned the long-standing ethics of working during illness and upheld the positive social obligation to stay home when the first signs of illness appear.

Of course, the above statement is not intended to ignore the obvious test differences between last year and the previous season, or any other minor impact on the numerical differences.However, it is unacceptable to ignore what is obvious: changes intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 have stopped many other illnesses. Died on their truckOf course, COVID-19 didn’t stop. However, the effects were dramatic for infections with lower transmission rates (known in epidemiological terms as R0) than COVID-19. Simply delaying COVID-19 almost ended the flu. We have shown that the transmission of infections can be dramatically delayed or stopped.

Now that the end of the American COVID-19 pandemic is on the horizon, it’s time to ask how to sustainably incorporate this hard-earned lesson in the post-pandemic world.

Social distance and masking could not be tolerated as a general practice and could not overcome the urgent need for real human interaction. For the same reason, telecommuting becomes a universal practice. Not. I don’t just need to be together, I want to work from home.

The ethics of working from home for symptomatological Americans may be persistent, but due to the competitiveness of American companies and the pressure of the working environment, it is unlikely to happen without help. Unfortunately, employees are often encouraged to go to work when they get sick. Many Americans lose a day’s salary each time they lose their jobs, creating a reverse incentive for Americans with infections and illnesses to risk transmitting their illness to their colleagues. Many Americans — Nearly 70% of parents — I am facing a sick child who sends them to school because they cannot take time off from work even though they should stay home for public health reasons. Policy makers should look for ways to facilitate these public health-led changes in the American workplace. Until then, how do you encourage the simple and effective public health ethics of staying home when you are ill?

This is where technology comes in. Consider temperature checking: Friction-free, non-contact temperature checking technology can monitor temperature rise in public areas, workplaces, and even busy homes, filling the epidemiological gap filled by social distance and masking. You can step into. This simple, non-invasive system often detects important signs of a viral infection before the individual becomes aware of it.

This solution maintains visibility into the potential risks of illness and spread of illness and spread for employers and employees, even if COVID-19 recedes as a motivational force for life in the United States.

The effect will be enormous. If you think about it again, Seasonal fluMost patients with influenza have a fever of 103-104 degrees Fahrenheit. Non-contact thermography is easy to detect long before you reach that stage. Imagine its widespread use in combination with telecommuting at work during the 2018-2019 flu season. An estimated 35.5 million influenza infections and 490,600 hospitalizations were seen in the United States during the season. 34,200 deadBased on the experience of the disappearance of the flu season from 2020 to 2021, we can predict that the overwhelming majority of illnesses and deaths in the previous season have been prevented. Think about it: Most of the 35.5 million infections were prevented, most of the 490,600 hospitalizations were avoided, and most importantly, most of the 34,200 Americans were still alive and with us. Is to be.

Temperature checking technology is another tool in the technology toolbox that adds to technologies that are easily adopted during pandemics, such as video conferencing. This is special so that the COVID lessons do not fade. When we try to find a new balance, we are relieved of our pressure and apply the learning and shared responsibilities that many sufferings have brought to us. Given what we have lost, we should be very pleased with the technical solution that makes it possible.

These simple steps reduce all types of febrile illnesses and their associated consequences (loss of working hours, especially death). The lives of Americans who are mixed and saved over time and cause are likely to reach millions, even if the United States has responded more safely to investment and social change since 9/11. For example, responding to pandemics should be an investment for better health and social change. After all, fever kills more than terrorism and guns each year.

Life is not really captured by mathematical calculations. It’s about holding hands with older parents who live longer, fragile children who have a chance to fight, holidays they shouldn’t have had, and loved ones who may have been wiped out by an infectious disease. We can choose it all. The pandemic wasn’t up to us. But this is.