Colorado sees “extraordinary” and “unprecedented” drop in flu during pandemic - The Denver Post

Colorado is more than halfway through the annual flu season, and thanks to the aggressive public health measures taken to combat COVID-19 along with an uptick in vaccinations, the state has seen a staggering drop in serious influenza cases and deaths.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has recorded a total of 23 hospitalizations so far this flu season, which began Sept.

Colorado has seen no pediatric flu deaths so far this season, as well as no outbreaks in long-term care facilities, according to state health department data.

Three children under the age of 18 died of the flu in Colorado during the 2019-20 flu season.

Colorado state health officials said they do not track adult flu deaths, but the CDC does.

“The medical community was really concerned about the possibility of the concomitant seasons of flu in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic,” said Amy Duckro, an infectious disease physician at Kaiser Permanente Colorado.

Duckro said medical professionals were not able to predict the current low flu season, and much like the uncertainty of this past year, they will not be able to predict what COVID-19 does in the years to come.

If COVID-19 does become an annual virus, Duckro said the lessons learned during this pandemic will allow people to manage it more effectively in the future.

As Colorado continues to navigate the pandemic, it’s important to continue practicing the necessary safety measures to keep the number of cases of both flu and COVID-19 down, Duckro said