Influenza cases remain low in nearly every state as the novel coronavirus continues to surge throughout the country, according to data from the (CDC) Centers for Disease Control.
Nationwide during the past week, 1.5% of patient visits were attributed to influenza-like symptoms, which is below the national baseline of 2.6%. This number reflects non-laboratory confirmed influenza and includes visits that may be due to other respiratory illnesses, such as SARS-CoV-2, that present with similar symptoms, according to the (CDC) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s FluView weekly report.
According to the report, influenza cases will likely begin to rise as the season goes on. “Flu activity is unusually low at this time but may increase in the coming months,” says the CDC report.
The CDC report suggests that flu cases have become more difficult to track due to the ongoing pandemic. “Healthcare seeking behaviors have changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people are accessing the healthcare system in alternative settings,” the FluView report says.
The CDC report says that the majority of the documented deaths attributed to pneumonia are due to COVID-19. The FluView report has not started reporting flu-related hospitalizations and will begin reporting these cases later in the season. So far, no pediatric influenza-related deaths have been documented by the CDC.
