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COVID-19 guidelines help to decrease influenza rates across the state

Flu rates have been down across the state, as mask-wearing and other COVID-19 guidelines have helped to reduce transmission rates. 

Athens County has reported very few confirmed cases and hospitalizations for influenza, which has been a trend this year nationwide. 

“We’re seeing less influenza this year than we have, probably in the last 10 years, maybe even 15 years,” James Gaskell, health commissioner at the Athens City-County Health Department, said. “This has been a very unusual year. There has been only two hospitalizations for influenza during this whole flu season in Athens County and ordinarily we would have 20 to 25.”

Confirmed cases of the flu in Ohio this year have stayed well below the last five years’ average, according to a graphic on the Ohio Department of Health website. There are fewer than 100 cases confirmed each month.

The decrease seen in flu rates is attributed to masking-wearing and social distancing, as both dramatically reduce the transmission of the flu. 

“As a respiratory virus, the transmission is very similar; a tight-fitting mask will reduce transmission dramatically,” Dr. Gillian Ice, special assistant to the president for public health operations, said in an email. 

In addition to wearing masks, COVID-19 has encouraged more hand washing and sanitizing surfaces helping reduce flu rates, as surface transmission is a common source for contracting the flu. 

There was also a big push for people to get the flu vaccine this year, Ice said. Athens County-City Health Department saw a great turnout at their drive-thru flu vaccination clinic in the fall. 

“We had about 800 people come through the clinic,” Gaskell said. “People were very concerned about getting COVID-19 this year, and also getting influenza at the same time. That would be a very dangerous situation so people did come and get immunized against influenza.”

Travel restrictions put into place because of the pandemic may also have contributed to why the flu rates are low this year. 

“Ordinarily, the disease occurs first in the southern hemisphere, and is brought to the northern hemisphere through travel, and travel has been restricted this year,” Gaskell said.

However, Gaskell is not sure if people in the United States will accept masking during coming flu seasons, especially as rates of COVID-19 start to decrease. He said he would not be surprised if the flu rates went back up next year. 

“Influenza (rates) will probably come back,” Gaskell said. “We indeed have learned that masking is important and that we can decrease the rate of influenza by masking, which has not been a part of our culture previously.”

Ohio University has not discussed the use of masks in preventing the flu in the future. Yet, more than just masking, a shift in how being sick is viewed by people in the United States would help to prevent illness. 

“If people would stay home when symptomatic, that would be hugely helpful, but pre-COVID there was a general culture of pushing through symptoms and keeping with normal activities,” Ice said in an email. “To do otherwise, has been seen as a sign of weakness.”

In the short term, people may still wear masks during times of high contagion rates, however, there will be many people who are looking to get back to pre-COVID days, she said. 

“I suspect that, at least in the short-term, that culture will shift.” Ice said in an email. “As COVID-19 wanes, I suspect some people will continue to wear masks when there are high rates of contagion, while others are desperate to get back to ‘normal’ and will not be compelled to do so, even within peak flu season.”

@colvin_lydia 

lc844519@ohio.edu

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