The flu stayed away due to the corona measures, Kroes explains. Keeping your distance and avoiding crowds worked even better against the flu than against the coronavirus, because that is a “more insidious” virus. “Covid is contagious before you feel sick, so you infect others before you know it. Moreover, no one had immunity against it yet.”
How to prevent
But how do you ensure that you don’t get hit by the flu this winter, now that there are fewer corona measures? According to Kroes, for example, eating some extra fruit does not give resistance. “Living healthy may make you less sick, but it doesn’t prevent you from getting influenza. Only specific defenses help against the flu, because you’ve already had it or been vaccinated.”
The success of the corona measures to combat flu raises the question of whether the measures can continue to prevent an influenza epidemic. According to Kroes, this has never been thought of, however logical it may seem. “Virologists have always been a bit surprised that we do so little to prevent influenza, after all, people also die from it. We even hold a popular festival in the middle of winter, the flu season, that mainly takes place indoors: carnival.”
It is therefore a good idea, according to Kroeg, to be more aware of the flu. “For example, by practicing more hygiene and not going out among people in the event of any illness.”
autumn flu
It is impossible to predict when the flu will strike and whether it will indeed be more severe, says virologist De Jong. “Because the flu was never gone before, we don’t know how much impact it has on immunity.”
Flu normally circulates mainly in January and February, but that could be earlier this year, for example in the fall. “After all, this summer we suddenly had a small epidemic of the RS virus among children. Very strange, because you normally only see that in the winter. That is probably also because the population has built up less immunity.”
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