Scientists were surprised to learn that a surprisingly small number of people in the Southern Hemisphere came down with flu this year, reasoning that public health measures such as proper hygiene, restricted travel, mask-wearing and social distancing put in place to fight COVID-19 may have also limited the spread of influenza.
The finding has given hope to public health experts that the U. S. and other northern countries might be spared the double whammy of COVID-19 and a bad flu season this winter.
Earlier this year, public health officials in the southern parts of the world worried that their health care systems would soon be overwhelmed, not just with coronavirus cases, but also with hospitalizations of seasonal flu, so they bought more vaccine and vaccinated more people during the pre-flu season. They waited and watched for influenza cases to start rising as usual, but saw no upsurge.
More than 194,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. In a typical flu season, tens of thousands of people in this country die of influenza, according to the CDC.
Source: NPR August 26, 2020