Covid masks preventing flu?

[elgenon]

In America I have seen no talk of flu this winter. Do Asians have it right that wearing masks prevent the flu? I remember the medical establishment was so afraid of combating the flu on top of Covid.

 

Have you TVers in Thailand heard of people getting the flu this winter?

[mtls2005]

In Thailand?

 

Lockdowns, shutdowns, social distancing, masks, school closings, less interprovincial travel, (standard) flu vaccinations probably all have lead to lower than average flu cases/deaths?

 

But that's all conjecture, you can root around here...

 

http://www.thainihnic.org/influenza/main.php

 

http://www.thainihnic.org/influenza/files/Flulab/Flu lab sur Jan_WK04 2021.pdf

[DavisH]

Flu levels are very low in most countries. Several months ago, in Vic, Australia, their health officer stated that if you have flu symptoms, you should get tested for covid, as it is much more likely to be covid than the flu. It also indicates that covid is much more contagious than regular flu. Masks seem to be effective. Not 100% of course, but better than nothing!

Also, perhaps in this part of the world, previous exposure to coronaviruses has elevated t cells (these can last many years), giving some immunity to sars cov-2. It may be why the majority of migrant workers are asymptomatic. 

[Moonlover]

58 minutes ago, elgenon said:

Have you TVers in Thailand heard of people getting the flu this winter?

This isn't really the flu season right now. The peak season is May to September, although it can occur all year round.

[cormanr7]

Not talking specifically about Thailand, but in for instance in the US and Europe, very few flu cases has been reported so far https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/01/covid-19-measures-also-suppress-flu-now. and https://flunewseurope.org/SeasonOverview  This is indeed attributed to masks, social distancing etc. Those who have been to Japan (pre COVID) will have noticed that mask wearing is widely practised even if people only have a cold. 

[rabas]

I think most measures people take to prevent COVID-19 also help reduce seasonal flu.

 

You can asked the question the other way around. What would COVID-19 be like if no one took any measures to reduce COVID-19?

 

[AlexRich]

Flu has been pretty much eliminated everywhere as a consequence of frequent hand washing, social distancing and mask wearing. Covid-19 appears to be more transmissible than regular flu and colds so has been the predominant virus. 

[onthedarkside]

A number of coronavirus misinformation posts have been removed, along with replies.

 

Any further such posts and this thread will be closed.

 

And now, after removing two more trolling posts, this thread is indeed CLOSED.