Lessons Learned from Last Year’s Flu Season By Beth Coopman, PharmD, pharmacist at Network Health
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he 2020-2021 flu season was a mild one. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many people received the flu vaccine, stayed home when sick, washed their hands regularly, practiced social distancing and wore a mask when in public. Not only did this keep people safe from coronavirus, it proved to be an effective way to stop the spread of the flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2,038 flu cases were reported from September 27, 2020 to April 24, 2021. In contrast, about 38 million people were sick with the flu during the 20192020 season. These are great nationwide trends. We achieved this incredible decrease by doing the below. • Vaccination rates increased for 2020-2021 flu season. The CDC shows that over 80 million U.S. adults received flu vaccines in the 2020-2021 flu season, compared to 72 million in the 2019-2020 season. • Employers, more than ever, promoted staying home from work when ill. Working from home, when possible, was normalized. • More focus was placed on maintaining or improving both mental and physical health. People began eating healthier diets, following doctor-recommended daily exercise routines, meditating for stress relief and talking to their doctor about mental health concerns. All these healthy initiatives promote a healthy immune system.
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• Hygiene improved, like washing hands more frequently and wiping down commonly shared surfaces. Individuals and companies invested time and money into sanitizing to stop the spread of illness. Using what we learned last year, we can determine which practices are sustainable to avoid a severe flu season in 2021. This year, we recommend continuing the following practices to keep yourself healthy this flu season. • Focus on improving or maintaining overall health and strengthening your immune system • Start or continue getting your flu vaccine for the 2021-2022 flu season • Stay home when you’re sick • Wear a mask if you’re sick and have to go into public • Let businesses know you value shopping in clean stores with frequently sanitized shared surfaces— like keypads—and wipes to use on shopping carts • Consider using social distancing floor marks or stay six feet apart when waiting in lines • Wash hands frequently and avoid touching your face with unwashed hands Not every physical and social barrier we experienced in the last year is sustainable; however, we can continue the good habits that make sense. Doing this may help us prevent flu or other infectious disease complications in the future.
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