Flu cases in Arizona are down compared to pre-COVID-19 numbers. Jessica Rigler of the state Department of Health Services said this flu season’s low numbers are in part due to COVID-19-related precautions.
“Those measures like wearing masks, staying home when you’re sick, covering your coughs and sneezes, are all things that will help prevent not just the spread of COVID-19, but also the spread of influenza,” Rigler said.
Rigler also cited virus dynamics as a possible cause behind the flu’s dip in infection rate.
“We don’t know yet, but there’s science out there looking into this question of whether COVID-19 kind of pushed out some of the other viruses that we typically see circulating during a winter respiratory season,” Rigler said. “It could be that there was so much COVID-19 in these last two winters that influenza really wasn’t able to grab a foothold like it typically does."
Arizona saw unusually low flu numbers last year, as well, which public health officials credited to pandemic safety measures.
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