The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dr. Rochelle Walensky testifies during a Senate Subcommittee hearing on Funds considering FY2022 budget proposal for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 19, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Jim Lo Scalzo | AFP | Getty Images
Influenza experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are concerned the United States may face a severe flu season this year, warned Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Wednesday.
That’s because the U.S. population may now have reduced immunity to influenza after seasonal flu cases hit an all-time low last year when large swaths of the nation were shut down, Walensky told reporters during a White House news conference.
There were very few cases of flu during the 2020-2021 flu season, “mainly due to masking and physical distancing and other preventive measures being taken for the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.
According to the CDC, there were around 2,000 cases of flu in the last flu season. By comparison, there were an estimated 35 million cases in the 2019-2020 flu season, according to the agency.
Walensky urged Americans to get vaccinated against both Covid and the flu, saying vaccinations are important not only to end the pandemic but also to prevent other infectious diseases. A spike in flu infections this winter could add additional strain to the country’s healthcare system and add stress to healthcare workers who are already facing high numbers of hospitalizations for Covid, she said.
According to the Department of Health, around 69,000 Americans with Covid are currently in inpatient beds.
“We continue to see many hospitals and intensive care units across the country at full capacity,” said Walensky. “In the United States, influenza can claim between 12,000 and 52,000 lives each year and result in 140,000 to 710,000 hospitalizations.”
She said it was safe and effective to vaccinate against Covid and the flu at the same time.
“We need as many people as possible to be vaccinated against influenza so we can protect the most vulnerable, such as adults over 65, people of all ages with chronic health problems like asthma, heart disease or diabetes, and children, especially under five who are at risk of serious complications from the flu, “she said.
