We would tend to forget it, yet it is still there: during the winter of 2020, to the coronavirus epidemic was added a seasonal flu epidemic … According to the report of the 2019-2020 influenza season published in October 2020 by Public Health France, “the flu would have caused 3,680 deaths of all ages during the 2019-2020 epidemic“.
It should be noted that the figure of 73 deaths (which circulates a lot on social networks) is not exact: it only corresponds to the deaths that have occurred due to seasonal flu among patients admitted to intensive care.
A shorter flu epidemic, in particular thanks to barrier gestures
Good news : according to Public Health France, the epidemic of this winter 2020 “one of the shortest epidemics since 2010“. But there is an important factor that must be taken into account: as Public Health France explains, due to the coronavirus epidemic which has mobilized many resources (especially human, but not only),”the collection of monitoring indicators for seasonal flu could not be continued until the end of the usual monitoring period (week 15-2020)“.
Clearly: deaths occurring between week 11-2020 (i.e. March 9, 2020) and week 15-2020 (April 6, 2020) were not counted by health authorities. Public Health France believes, however, that the seasonal flu epidemic was already almost over at the beginning of March 2020.
How to explain this epidemic of seasonal flu, less severe than usual? For specialists, there has already been the confinement effect which has “blocked” the spread of the influenza virus in March 2020. In addition, raising public awareness of barrier gestures (washing hands frequently, wearing a mask …) could also slow down the transmission of influenza.
Source: AFP Factual
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