Flu lessened by COVID precautions
It may seem odd now, given all we’ve gone through to prevent the spread of one virus, but early in the COVID-19 pandemic, some medical experts were concerned the U.S. might experience a “twindemic.” There were worries we would be battling both coronavirus and the flu.
Though it may be a common sense conclusion, those same experts are now expressing relief as the Ohio Department of Health reports very few flu hospitalizations so far this season. Stopping the spread of one contagion seems to have stopped the spread of some others.
“For nearly a solid year we’ve been diligently practicing infection control in every day life. Hand washing, distancing and masking,” said Dr. Claudia Hoyen, University Hospitals pediatric infectious disease specialist, told another media outlet.
Hoyden put the biggest emphasis on the role played by kids in spreading (or not) disease. Any parents can tell you how easily colds and the flu spread in schools. When kids aren’t in school, or when they are being asked to follow precautionary guidelines when they are, they are keeping more than just COVID-19 at bay.
More people got the flu vaccine in Ohio this season, too.
It is good news, and it raises some questions about how many of the precautionary tactics we developed to fight COVID-19 might last well after this pandemic is in our rearview mirror. Whatever experts determine, it is needed bit of good news for Ohio, and shows our efforts have made a difference in more ways than one.