Seasonal influenza lower than usual this time of year

Question

Those of you who are good with numbers, can you help describe this data[0] set? It seems that the flu's five-year average is 15.80%, while this year its at 0.10%. Seasonal influenza activity, in the United States, remains lower than usual for this time of year.Last week, 36 positive flu tests reported. Last year, 7,703 positive flu tests, same week reporting.Interesting, no?[0] https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

mtmail · Accepted Answer

I think that was expected. Article from September 2020 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/07/health/covid-flu-season-f..."In August 2019, there were 61,000 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza in Australia. In August 2020, there were 107. "This is virtually a non-season," said Ian Barr, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Melbourne. "We've never seen numbers like this before.""

gus_massa · Answer

Most measures against covid-19 like social distance also reduce the spread of other virus like the ones that cause common cold and flu.Relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/2306/