The rate of positive flu tests being reported is currently lower than what was reported at the start of October. Normal flu seasons typically peak between December and February.
Early data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates between 25 to 51 million flu illnesses as well as 18,000 to 56,000 flu deaths occurred between Oct. 1 and Feb. 11. Only 9 million flu illnesses are estimated to have occurred during the 2021-2022 flu season.
The flu seasons that took place during the pandemic were heavily impacted by the mitigation methods like isolating, masking and social distancing, resulting in levels lower than what would normally be expected.
Not only was flu affected, but so were other respiratory viruses like RSV, which saw widespread transmission this winter among young children who had not been exposed to it due to isolating at home.
This flu season was more severe than what has been seen since the start of the pandemic and the preliminary data suggests it was comparable to what was seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CDC estimated that 36 million flu illnesses and about 25,000 related deaths occurred during the 2019-2020 flu season.
Amid the spread of these respiratory viruses, concerns were raised that a so-called "tripledemic" could occur.
While medical professionals have not come to a consensus on whether this in fact happened, several physicians across the country certainly reported large volumes of patients coming into their hospitals with respiratory viral infections.
The distinction that some have made, however, is that hospital systems did not fall apart in response to the influx of patients.
Routine surgeries were not halted at hospitals where respiratory virus patients surged and providers were well-equipped to address flu, RSV and coronavirus infections.
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