Key TakeawaysFlu rates are significantly lower this year compared to previous years.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says flu shot rates are up as well.COVID-19 safety precautions like wearing masks and social distancing have helped curb flu cases this year.

Key Takeaways

Flu rates are significantly lower this year compared to previous years.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says flu shot rates are up as well.COVID-19 safety precautions like wearing masks and social distancing have helped curb flu cases this year.

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Lower Flu Rates

Lynette Brammer, MPH,leader of the CDC’s Domestic Influenza Surveillance team, indicated that both, flu testing and vaccinations are up and infection are down.

“Our clinical labs are testing a lot. During the week of New Year’s, they tested 21,000 specimens and got 28 positives,” Brammer tells Verywell. “Our public health labs tested another 10,000 and got 16 positives. It’s incredibly unusual how little flu there is.”

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These low infection rates are especially unusual given the highly contagious nature of influenza.Michael Jackson, PhD, MPH,senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, tells Verywell via email that both influenza and COVID-19 spread in the same way, via respiratory droplets.

“Influenza has a shorter “latent period” than SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19],” Jackson says. “The latent period is the time from when someone gets infected until they become contagious, so influenza tends to spread faster than SARS-CoV-2. However, SARS-CoV-2 is more contagious than influenza. So a person infected with SARS-CoV-2 is expected to spread the virus to more people than a person infected with influenza.”

What This Means For You

More Flu Shots

Flu season typically starts in October and lasts until May. This year, the CDC and other public health officials emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated more than ever.

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Brammer says that flu typically peaks in February, so we’re not out of the woods yet. There is still time to get vaccinated if you’re able to. The flu vaccine typically takes around two weeks to take full effect. For children taking the vaccine for the first time, a two-stage shot is necessary. Brammer says the sooner you vaccinate, the better.

COVID-19 Safety Precautions Help Too

“I think it’s multiple factors,” Brammer says. “All of the mitigation measures that have been put in place to help with the COVID-19 pandemic, are working well against influenza—wearing a mask and keeping your distance and washing your hands works for flu as well.”

How to Safely Get a Flu Shot During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Jackson agrees. “The low rates of flu that we’ve seen so far are mostly due to social distancing used to prevent SARS-CoV-2.”

Coronavirus News

“All these mitigation measures are just layers,” Brammer says. “And this [flu shot] is just another layer of protection. While something may slip through on one layer, hopefully, the next layer catches it and vaccines are one of those layers.”

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit ourcoronavirus news page.

1 SourceVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Influenza vaccine doses distributed, United States.

1 Source

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Influenza vaccine doses distributed, United States.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Influenza vaccine doses distributed, United States.

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