OLYMPIA, Wash. — Four weeks into the new reporting season, and amid ongoing concerns about hospital capacity, the state reports no flu deaths so far.
This time in the season last year, there had been one death; with two by this time two years ago.
The state health department calls flu activity statewide low.
Emergency department visits for influenza like illnesses so far are tracking at their lowest for the past four years, the department reports.
US News reports Johns Hopkins researchers in September found flu incidence over the summer was only 10-20% of normal; while the current flu season in the southern hemisphere has been mild.
Dr. Amesh Adalja from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security said these numbers should calm public health experts worried about a potential “twindemic” of COVID-19 and influenza cases swamping U.S. hospitals