The twindemic feared by many when COVID-19 collided with flu season has not come to be.
Both nationally and in New England, influenza activity is unusually low this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In some areas, the flu is almost non-existent. In others, it s still making rounds, though at an unprecedented lesser rate.
The medical community is breathing a small sigh of relief, after initial worry that individuals might contract both influenza and COVID-19, and likely compound already-strained hospital systems.
After the week ending on Jan, 30, the CDC reported just 1,499 influenza cases nationwide for the season thus far. Most years, flu season totals an estimated 45 million cases.
January 24, 2021
A year after the emergence of the disease that has killed 2 million people, humans keep underestimating the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
This winter, Covid-19 is turning out to be even more dangerous than epidemiologists and public health officials had feared and not just because of the more contagious variants now making their way around the globe. As recently as October,
Nature reported it was “too soon to say whether Covid is seasonal like the flu.” Evidence hinted that winter weather could increase transmission of the virus: In the lab, the virus persisted under cold, dry conditions and was inactivated by the ultraviolet rays in sunlight.
HEADLINES & GLOBAL NEWS
By
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urged Congress to increase federal taxes on wealthy people.
NY Governor urged an increase of federal taxes on wealthy people
(Photo : Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
New York Governor Cuomo Holds A Press Briefing In NYC NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 08: New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at a news conference on September 08, 2020 in New York City. Cuomo, though easing restrictions on casinos and malls throughout the state, has declined to do so for indoor dining in restaurants in New York City despite pressure from business owners, citing struggles by the city to enforce the state s previous orders.