COVID measureslikely led to mildflu season

Apr. 11—WILKES-BARRE — It's been a year now, so you've probably read plenty of articles about how masks stop the spread of COVID-19. But what about some of the respiratory illnesses that we have more experience with, like influenza and the common cold?

According to medical professionals, it seems as though the mitigation efforts for the pandemic have led to an incredibly low flu season.

Dr. Pragya Dhaubhadel, director of infection control for Geisinger's northeast region and infectious diseases specialist at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton, told the Times Leader this week that the trend can be seen around the world.

"This year, compared to previous years, there is a tremendous decrease of respiratory illnesses," Dhaubhadel said.

Dhaubhadel said that, so far this flu season, only around 0.2% of the people nationally who have been tested for influenza actually tested positive. These numbers are reported by the CDC. This is a sharp decrease from previous years. And locally, Dhaubhadel said that there was only one case of influenza B in the Geisinger system, the dominant flu strain.

Additionally, a report published in the Times Leader last week says a study led by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center found that hospitalizations at children's hospitals for respiratory illness is down 62% nationwide, and the amount of children who have died from flu is in the single digits, compared to between 100 and 200 most years.

Dhaubhadel said that the likely cause of this sharp decrease of respiratory illness comes from the fact that the ways to avoid the flu are essentially the same as the ways to avoid COVID-19. Masks, social distancing, hand hygiene and everything else we've been doing for the past year ultimately help both illnesses.

Anthony Dicton, pandemic coordinator for the Wyoming Valley West School District, suggested through email correspondence that some of these preventative measures have helped stop the spread of various illnesses in his district.

"What we did as a district at the beginning was require students to submit a wellness screening daily," Dicton wrote. "I send Remind messages to parents to complete the screening or our motto is 'When in doubt stay out.'"

Remind is an app that allows for direct communications between educators and parents in situations like these.

"We also screen students who come to the nurses office with symptoms," he went on. "If the student meets our guidelines for having possible COVID, we send them home with a letter explaining why we are sending the child home and when the child can return safely."

Dicton said that, based on information that's been provided to him by school nurses, it's difficult exactly to say from their perspective whether or not fewer kids had the cold or flu, but one thing is for sure: they aren't coming to school if they show symptoms.

"This year, most parents aren't sending students to school as maybe they would have pre-pandemic when sick," he said. "I also think the hand-sanitizing, mask-wearing and distancing is helping to reduce other illness like we have seen in the past."

But Dhaubhadel also thinks a big reason this flu season has been so mild was because of an increased push on vaccination to avoid dealing with both COVID-19 and flu ripping through communities.

"Compared to previous seasons, vaccination against influenza had a lot of focus," she said. "More people got vaccinated than in previous years."

Dhaubhadel said that, if there's a lesson to be learned over the past year, it's pretty clear what it is.

"If we follow collective measures, deaths and severe illness from influenza can be prevented," she said. "Vaccination is the most important thing, and people who are at high risk should consider wearing a mask."

While Dhaubhadel stopped short of suggesting that mask-wearing will continue to become common for healthy folks even when (or if) the pandemic truly comes to an end, she did say that she would recommend that people with illnesses like COPD, asthma and other things of that nature consider adopting mask-wearing during flu season, especially if they cannot get the flu shot for health or religious reasons.

Dhaubhadel also said that, while flu season is nearing its completion, there is still time to get a flu shot if you want one. If you get one, she said you have to get it at least two weeks before your COVID-19 vaccination.