Mild Flu Season May Pave Way for Severe Season This Fall

The mild flu season was a silver lining to an otherwise rough fall and winter, with COVID-19 safety measures such as masking and social distancing nearly eradicating the 2020-2021 influenza season, Becker Hospital Review reports.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) weekly influenza surveillance reports consistently found that flu activity was lower than usual this season. The flu hospitalization rate for 2020-2021was 0.07 per 100,000 people, the lowest rate since the CDC began collecting such date in 2005. There was one pediatric death from flu, compared to 196 in the 2019-20 season.

However, the mild flu season was not entirely good news. The low levels of flu activity have made it more challenging for experts developing the flu vaccine for the 2021-2022 season to predict which strains will predominate next winter, Politico reports. The lack of an effective vaccine could lead the U.S. to experience a severe flu season starting in the fall.

The low levels of the influenza virus were still enough for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to pick strains for the upcoming vaccine, and health experts advise everyone to be vaccinated when the new flu shots are available.