Home / Health / Flu Steals Winter Spotlight From Muted COVID
Flu Steals Winter Spotlight From Muted COVID
4 Mar
Summary
- Flu caused more hospitalizations and deaths than COVID this winter.
- Unusual flu strains reduced vaccine effectiveness, causing two severe seasons.
- COVID's impact has lessened due to increased immunity and less severe mutations.
For the second consecutive winter, influenza has overshadowed COVID-19 in the United States, with flu emerging as the more significant respiratory illness. This past season, flu caused an estimated 25 million infections, 330,000 hospitalizations, and 20,000 deaths, surpassing COVID-19's estimated 3 million to 9 million illnesses, 96,000 to 170,000 hospitalizations, and 10,000 to 30,000 deaths.
The severity of recent flu seasons is partly attributed to circulating H3N2 strains that mutated after vaccine targets were selected, reducing the flu shot's protective efficacy. This has led to two unusually severe flu seasons in a row.
Conversely, SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, has become less potent. Mutations have rendered it less capable of causing severe inflammation and lung damage, with its impact now comparable to or even less than influenza in some studies. This shift is also due to widespread immunity from vaccination and prior infections.
Experts note that while flu may dominate winter, COVID-19 remains a year-round concern. They emphasize the ongoing need for both flu and COVID-19 vaccines, as respiratory virus patterns can change, and coinfection with both viruses can lead to more severe illness.
