Flu rate drops dramatically due to COVID-19 precautions - WJW FOX 8 News Cleveland

(WANE) — A dramatic drop in the number of flu cases this season — an indirect result of the COVID-19 pandemic — is stunning doctors.

28, 2019, the CDC reported more than 65,000 cases of influenza across the U.S.

“It’s very striking to see it going from 65,000 cases to 1,000 or so cases this year and we’ve really seen that pattern worldwide, not just in the U.S.”.

Allen Maertin, with Lutheran Health Physicians in Fort Wayne, said from the 2019 to 2020 flu seasons, their influenza A cases dropped by 90% and influenza B dropped 75%.

People were also very willing to take the flu vaccine this season in hopes of avoiding a double pandemic or “twindemic,” although skepticism over a COVID-19 vaccine still remains high.