Flu season in Australia

[Tiny]

As flu season is approaching here in the USofA  I thought I'd see how Australia was doing for 2020 (they get it first and then we get it...) 


www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-13/flu-cases-drop-amid-coronavirus-restrictions-statistics-show/12332204

From the article: 

In the first five months of 2019 — a particularly severe flu season — the national total of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases reached 74,176.



But Immunisation Coalition data shows the number of cases in 2020 has plummeted since coronavirus lockdowns were introduced — from 20,032 cases in the first three months, to 504 in April and May.



Australian Medical Association (AMA) SA president Dr Chris Moy said the number of flu deaths prevented since the coronavirus pandemic began was probably "quite significant".

It will be interesting to see what happens here come Nov/Dec/Jan  prime Flu Months. 

[Deleted]

Fauci was talking about flu season during the hearings last week or whenever they were.

He said it's vitally imperative all Americans get a flu shot this year. He said one of the biggest issues will be there is no single test that says if you have flu or COVID if you end up in the ER.

He also said limiting the possible flu cases would make treating COVID cases easier on healthcare workers and overflowing hospitals.

[irishpad]

Interesting.    I've noticed here (northern MN) that since the lockdown there are been many less cases of things like simple colds running around so all of our social distancing is helping in the general way with all disease spreading

[pulmonarymd]

Flu cases basically disappeared in the US in April with the lockdown. Amazing how transmission just stopped. If we lockdown again in the fall(god forbid) I expect we will see the same thing.

[Tennesseer]

Jul 10, 2020 16:22:40 GMT -5 irishpad said:

Interesting.    I've noticed here (northern MN) that since the lockdown there are been many less cases of things like simple colds running around so all of our social distancing is helping in the general way with all disease spreading

You noticed correctly.

Shelter-in-Place Orders Prevented Up to 370,000 Coronavirus Deaths, Study Says

Two months of lockdowns this spring saved as many as 370,000 lives in the U.S., according to new estimates from researchers at the University of Iowa.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued the first statewide shelter-in-place order on March 19, and by early April, 42 states and the District of Columbia were similarly locked down. While coronavirus infections continued to rise, research shows social distancing measures curbed the growth of new cases within days. The new study, published in the journal Health Affairs, indicates the stay-at-home orders also corresponded with a sharp decline in COVID-19 mortality growth rates that became more pronounced as time went on.

In the first week after a shelter-in-place order was enacted, the average daily growth rate in COVID-19 mortality was 20.5%, according to the analysis, which is based on data from 22 states between March 21 and May 15. In the fourth week after enactment, the growth rate fell by an average of 2.9 percentage points, while after the sixth week, the rate fell by an average of 6.1 percentage points.


Rest of article here: Shelter-in-Place Orders Prevented Up to 370,000 Coronavirus Deaths, Study Says