It is an interesting question.
“It’s a very interesting question, in fact,” replied Lou Vargo, the director of the Ohio County Emergency Management Agency. “When we started testing here in Ohio County for Covid-19, we were testing for strep throat and the flu, too, and for a little while we had a lot of flu in the county. But this year it’s almost been nonexistent.”
But why?
The easy answer? Two weeks ago, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a grand total of three cases of influenza were reported, and last week the number was four. At this time last year, the CDC had recorded 183,000 positive flu cases. But this year? Just over 1,500. In West Virginia, too, influenza cases remain miniscule compared to previous flu seasons in the Mountain State.
For nearly a year now, Americans have become very familiar with the federal CDC because of the coronavirus pandemic, and not only have they tracked the spread of Covid-19, but the agency also accounts for reported cases of influenza during the country’s annual “flu season.”
“Is it because of all of the snow that we have had, and people were not going out in public? Is it because the flu shots that people have received really are working this time? I’m sure both of those things have factored into the lowest numbers anyone in public health has seen during their careers,” Vargo explained. “I know they are for me.
“I know a lot of people think it’s because of Covid-19, and while that doesn’t appear possible, there still is a lot we do not know about the virus,” he said. “The pandemic has forced us to live differently than we ever have, and that includes the masks and the distancing. That’s probably played a big factor with the low numbers.”
Remote Learning
W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice announced suddenly on March 20, 2020, that all schools would be closed and virtual learning would be implemented as quickly as possible by systems in each of the state’s 55 counties. In Ohio County, administrators, educators, and staff members took the next three days to develop an online curriculum, a packet learning system, and a food distribution program. All three were activated on March 24.
“It happened so quickly and without warning, so everyone was taken by surprise,” said Rick Jones, assistant superintendent of Ohio County Schools. “That was a very long weekend for everyone, but our teachers got it together, and we were able to move forward very quickly.”
Closing school buildings to millions of children across 50 states, though, may have played the biggest role with the scant number of confirmed cases of influenza in the United States.
“My wife and I always say to each other that we haven’t gotten sick as often since our kids graduated and grew up,” Vargo said. “So, that tells me the kids not being in school has also played a big factor with the lack of a flu season. If a child gets the flu, it may feel like a bad head cold, but it’s always worse for the parents because of the age difference.
“But now that the kids are going back to five days of in-person instruction here in Ohio County, it’s my hope that the masks will still be worn, that social distancing remains in place, and that the children are encouraged to wash their hands anytime they go to the restroom,” he said. “I guess the best thing I can say is that it’s not over yet. We’re close, but we’re not there yet.”
The Big Reveal
Residents of Mississippi, Montana, Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, and North Dakota no longer are required to wear face coverings, and on March 10, the same will take place in Texas. Those decisions concern Director Vargo.
“I am worried about the people in the states where the governors have repealed mask mandates because, not only do I believe the face coverings have limited the spread of Covid, but also the flu,” Vargo said. “It just seems as if those governors are early with such a move because we’re in the middle of the vaccination process, and if they would have let that continue a little longer, those people would have been better off.
“We’ve seen a lot of progress take place with the vaccines and with the numbers going down the way they have. We may see single digits one of two days a week now rather than the 40 or 50 we were seeing not too long ago,” he recalled. “We’ve made a pretty good turn for the better, but I still don’t believe we’re not at the point where we can let our guard down.”
