Official data showed that the flu season in the United States carries risks that could require hospitalization for the infected and could be the most severe in 13 years, according to a report published by the newspaper. Washington Post.
Data indicates that influenza infections have so far exceeded 880,000 cases, as more than 6,900 patients have required hospitalization, while complications of the disease have resulted in the deaths of 360 cases, including one child, according to data from the Center for Disease. Control and Prevention (CDC).
The report pointed out that the flu season is usually between October and May and peaks in December and January.
And the “CDC” began measuring the severity of the season by the infection scale in 2009, when the United States witnessed a swine flu outbreak.
“It’s unusual,” Lynette Brammer, head of the flu monitoring team at the CDC, told the newspaper, adding, “The Corona pandemic has affected influenza and other circulating respiratory viruses.”
Experts and health officials said the flu has not been a serious problem for the past two years, due to the use of face masks, social distancing, and other measures people have taken to protect themselves from COVID-19.
“The data is disturbing,” William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, told the Washington Post, as this year’s flu “is not only early, but it looks very serious.”
“This makes the concern twofold. The heavy burden of the flu appears to be the start of what could be the worst flu season in 13 years,” he added.
The report shows that what increases the concern of health authorities is that the number of people who received flu vaccines in the United States this year did not exceed 128 million, up from 139 million last year and 154 the year before. , according to the “CDC”.
This data comes at a time when the public health system is facing multiple virus threats as coronavirus infection cases are expected to increase, especially in the cold.
On 19 September, the World Health Organization announced that it will maintain the maximum alert level in the face of the Covid-19 crisis, warning of a pandemic that “has surprised us and could give the ball back”.
Experts agree to classify the Covid epidemic as an “international public health emergency”.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization has reported over 622 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 6.5 million deaths. These numbers are underestimated, according to an AFP report.
