Flu Cases In California Dwindling Amid Coronavirus

CALIFORNIA — The new coronavirus continues to dominate U.S. headlines as the number of cases in the United States surpassed 1 million this week. But here’s some good news: the 2019-20 influenza season in California is slowly but surely coming to an end.

Flu activity is low throughout the country, according to a report released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only two states and the District of Columbia are experiencing high levels of flu activity, while 40 are reporting minimal cases.

In California, flu activity is currently low. According to the CDC, there have been 5,742 reported influenza cases in our state this season, a majority of which were Influenza A/B illnesses.

Looking at the current geographic spread of influenza, eight states are reporting no activity while the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and 27 other states are reporting sporadic activity.

In California, flu activity is currently sporadic.

The CDC stopped updating numbers on its weekly flu surveillance report on April 4, according to CNN Health, and is now including flu cases in its weekly COVID-19 report. However, the organization did release its overall flu estimate covering a period of six months starting Oct. 1, 2019.

According to the estimates, anywhere from 39 million to 59 million people were infected by the flu this season. It’s hard to know exactly how many people were infected with the virus since the CDC mainly tracks cases through clinic visits and hospitalizations.

From October 2019 to early April 2020, the CDC estimates the flu killed anywhere from 24,000 to 62,000 people in the United States. This year, the flu also killed 170 children.

Here’s one way to look at it: if 62,000 people died from the flu this season, the United States had an average of about 331 flu deaths per day.

Coronavirus is far deadlier than the flu, experts agree. More than 63,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 from the first known death in February through May 1, according to case counts by The New York Times. This means from Feb. 6 through April 30, an average of more than 828 people have died per day from coronavirus in the United States.

Typically, the groups most at risk of the flu are older adults, very young children, pregnant women and those with certain chronic medical conditions.

According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu include:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills (though not everyone with flu will have a fever)
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

The flu is a highly contagious illness, which is why the CDC urges everyone to take these steps to protect themselves and others from catching it.

Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know