The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
State: Only 1 new flu hospitalization in past week
Flu numbers in the state are still lower than normal, though they are rising slowly, according to the latest data from the state Department of Public Health.
The numbers, released Friday, showed that during the week of Jan. 17, one more person was hospitalized because of the flu and three more people tested positive for the illness. So far, a total of 13 people have been hospitalized with flu this season and 39 have tested positive. There has only been one flu-related death this season to date.
Still, the state is urging anyone who hasn’t to get their annual flu shot. “Annual vaccination is the best way to protect against severe illness due to influenza,” read the state’s latest flu data report.
The consistently low numbers this season are a dramatic departure from years past, in which flu often hit a peak sometime between January and February. Last year, by the week of Jan. 12 to Jan. 18, there had already been 784 flu-related hospitalizations and 20 flu-associated deaths in the state. At that time, a total of 3,759 people had tested positive for the flu.
There were initial fears that the state might see a “twindemic” during flu season, that flu would peak during a second surge in the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the second wave of COVID-19 hit, flu activity hasn’t hit the feared high numbers.
Experts have attributed the relatively low flu cases to the fact that many of the measures taken against COVID-19 — such as maskwearing and hand-washing — can prevent other illnesses as well, including the flu.
Right now, flu activity in the state is classified as “sporadic,” meaning that a small number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases or a single laboratory-confirmed outbreak has been reported, but there is no increase in cases of influenza-like illness.
Nationwide, flu numbers are low as well, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In its weekly flu data report, which was also released on Friday, the CDC stated that “seasonal influenza activity in the United States remains lower than usual for this time of year.”