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JOHANNESBURG – Winter is ending in the southern hemisphere and one country after another – South Africa, Australia, Argentina – had a surprise: its measures against COVID-19 have also blocked the flu.
But there is no guarantee that the Northern Hemisphere will avoid dual epidemics as its own flu season looms while the coronavirus still continues.
“This may be one of the worst seasons from a public fitness standpoint, with COVID and the flu coming together. But it can also be one of the most productive flu seasons I’ve ever had, ”Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press.
US fitness officials are pushing Americans to get a flu shot in record numbers this fall, as hospitals got through a “twindemic” duel.
It is also appropriate transparent that dressing in masks, avoiding crowds and keeping your distance are protections that are “not express for COVID. ” They will look for any respiratory virus, ”Redfield said.
The proof: South Africa generally reports widespread influenza in the southern hemisphere winter months, May through August. This year, the tests tracked through the country’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases located almost none, which is unprecedented.
School closings, public gatherings and calls to wear masks and wash hands have “lowered the flu,” said Dr. Cheryl Cohen, director of the institute’s breathing program.
This only meant lives stored away from the annual cost of the flu, but “freed up the ability of our hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients,” Cohen added.
In Australia, the National Department of Health reported only 36 laboratory-confirmed flu-associated deaths between January and mid-August, up from more than 480 at the same time last year.
“Probably the highest and highest is social distancing,” said Dr. Robert Booy, an infectious disease expert at the University of Sydney.
The coronavirus is responsible for around 24 million infections and more than 810,000 deaths worldwide in the first 8 months of this year alone. An overall flu year can see hospitals around the world face several million more serious ailments in addition to the COVID-19 accident.
In February and March, when the global spread of the new virus had just been recognized, many countries in the southern hemisphere braced for a double blow. Even when they locked themselves up to fight the coronavirus, they made a massive effort to get more last-minute flu shots.
“We give a lot more flu shots, like 4 times as many,” said Jaco Havenga, a pharmacist who works at Mays Chemist, a pharmacy outside of Johannesburg.
Blockades in some countries have been more effective than others in stopping the spread of the coronavirus. So why would the flu go down even if COVID-19 keeps rising?
“It is clear that the surveillance required to be successful against COVID is high,” said Redfield of the CDC. “This virus is one of the most infectious viruses that we have seen. “
This is in part because 40% of other people with COVID-19 have no symptoms but can spread the infection, he said.
The flu has disappeared, a World Health Organization report earlier this month warned. While “overall influenza activity has been reported to a lesser degree than expected for this time of year,” it found sporadic cases were reported.
In addition, some other people who had the flu in southern countries may have squatted at home and not seen a doctor because the coronavirus was prevalent, the WHO added.
But foreign flu experts say keeping schools closed (young people are the engines of the flu spread) and strict regulations on face masks and distancing have obviously helped.
“We don’t have definitive proof, but the logical explanation is that what they are doing to control the spread of (coronavirus) is also a very, very smart task against the flu,” said Richard Webby of St. Jude. Children’s Research Hospital, which is part of a WHO committee that tracks the progress of influenza.
In contrast, the United States and Europe have imposed regulations on the coronavirus that are almost as restrictive as some of their southern neighbors and, in many cases, are reopening schools and relaxing distancing regulations even as COVID-19 is still spreading. and the colder months that favor the spread of flu are fast approaching.
So the US CDC is calling for unprecedented flu shots, preferably through October. Redfield’s purpose is that at least 65% of adults get vaccinated; only about half.
The United States expects more than 190 million doses of the flu vaccine, about 20 million more than last year. States are encouraged to review the flu shot and other artistic concepts to vaccinate others and avoid crowds.
In one move, Massachusetts has made flu shots mandatory for all students, from elementary school through school, this year. Typically, only some members of the health care staff face task mandates for the flu vaccine.
In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is calling for a widespread flu vaccination.
To be clear, the flu vaccine only protects against the flu; It might not decrease the chances of contracting the coronavirus. COVID-19 vaccines are still experimental, and several applicants are entering the latest tests to see if they work.
But for protection against the coronavirus, Redfield continues to insist on vigilance around those wearing masks, keeping his distance, avoiding crowds and washing his hands.
“Once those mitigation steps are prevented, it takes a few weeks for the viral pathogens to get back to where they were,” he said.
While the United States has resisted masks, the top states now have some mask requirements, either through state orders issued through governors or city and county regulations.
Meanwhile, the countries where the flu season ends are monitoring to see if the Northern Hemisphere is paying attention to the lessons learned.
“It can be very scary, we honestly don’t know. But if you have to catch either infection at the same time, you may be in big trouble, ”said Booy, the Sydney infectious disease expert.
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