July 22, 2026
A Covid-19 pandemic surprise: We wiped out the flu. Wearing a mask because of the COVID-19 pandemic can be inconvenient and unpleasant at worst. But an underappreciated benefit to wearing a mask and social distancing has been a steep drop in the number of flu cases in the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offers these breathtaking observations:
Following the widespread adoption of mitigation measures to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), the percentage of U.S. respiratory specimens submitted for influenza testing that tested positive decreased from over 20 percent to about 2 percent.
The rates have remained at historically low interseasonal levels (0.2 percent versus 1 to 2 percent). Data from Southern Hemisphere countries also indicate little influenza activity.
Photo by CDC on Unsplash
In the USA, the flu virus rapidly declined within the declaration of the COVID-19 emergency. As you know, schools closed, and we began social distancing and wearing masks. Granted, we had some regional variability.
A Covid-19 pandemic surprise: We wiped out the flu. Please go here to learn more:
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