COVID-19 has practically outlived the flu in 2020, according to reports from foreign surveillance agencies for the disease. The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases analyzed data from approximately 300 US clinical laboratories located in all 50 states.
It turned out that the percentage of submitted samples that gave a positive result was 98% less than last year.
In some countries in the Southern Hemisphere, where the flu season occurs during the summer months, less than a tenth of a percent of those tested were carriers of the flu virus. In comparison, almost 14% of samples tested positive last year.
“Influenza, like coronavirus, belongs to respiratory viruses, and therefore the measures taken to combat COVID-19 (mask mode, social distancing, cancellation of mass events, etc.) obviously affected the reduction in the number of cases of influenza infection” , – explained Oleg Batishchev, associate professor of the departments of biophysics and physics of living systems at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (participant of the project to improve the competitiveness of education “5-100”).
He noted that the danger of a severe course of the new coronavirus infection while simultaneously contracting seasonal flu prompted many people to get vaccinated. “All this, taken together, led to a sharp decrease in the incidence of influenza, which is confirmed by the conclusions of this article,” the specialist concluded.
Experts also point to the closure of borders with China, which was the main “exporter” of influenza. They do not completely abandon the theory that if two viruses enter the body simultaneously, one of them will have an advantage, which will lead to the displacement of the other.
Read more in the Izvestia article:
Virus for virus: 98% of flu cases disappeared due to COVID-19