As Americans begin to congregate unmasked again, COVID-19 isn’t the only illness back on the rise. Experts say that coronavirus is affecting flu season and changing American lifestyle.
Flu season in 2020-2021 was nearly non-existent, but this year, the season is running longer than usual.
Dr. Marci Drees, Chief Infection Prevention Officer and Epidemiologist at ChristianaCare, says seasonality is shifting.
“This year, it’s been a little bit strange because we started to see some flu back in late November, early December, and then when Omicron surged, flu kind of went away," Drees said. "So we do tend to see this phenomenon described as ‘viral interference’ where you don’t tend to see outbreaks of two different respiratory viruses at exactly the same time in a population.”
Drees adds in Delaware, once Omicron died down, flu levels were higher than at the start of flu season in the winter, and cases are still rolling in.
“We’ve had to extend our flu surveillance beyond when we would normally shut it down,” she said.
She also notes re-exposure to viruses after a long period can make people more likely to get sick, but it doesn’t mean that our immune systems have weakened.
And Drees points out COVID vaccines do not protect against flu or vice versa, so both are needed to keep people fully protected.
Common colds and sinus infections are not as easily traceable, but Drees says those are likely on the rise too.
“It goes back to that period where we weren’t exposed to anything and now we’re being exposed to it regularly because we’re all back in school and back to work and many of us are not masking," Drees said. "I think that’s part of what we’re experiencing with maybe seeing a little bit more frequency now of colds than we did before COVID.”
Drees recommends typical precautions for sickness like staying home from work and masking for any viral infections, not just COVID.
She says she hopes masking doesn’t go away once COVID is further in the rear-view mirror because it’s a common-sense way to keep yourself, and others, safe from sickness.
