CMAAO CORONA FACTS and MYTH Flu Has Disappeared in the US

Author : Dr K Aggarwal President CMAAO, HCFI, With input from Dr Monica Vasudev

India

healthysoch

New Delhi, February 27, 2021 :

Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Flu Has Disappeared in the US

1. In US February is usually the peak of flu season, but not this year.
2. Flu has virtually disappeared from the US, with reports coming in at far lower levels than anything seen in decades.
3. Measures put in place to fend off the coronavirus — mask wearing, social distancing, and virtual schooling — are a big factor in preventing a “twindemic” of flu and COVID-19. A push to get more people vaccinated against flu also helped.
4. The coronavirus has essentially muscled aside flu and other bugs that are more common in the fall and winter. It would be consistent with patterns seen when certain flu strains predominate over others.
5. Nationally, this is the lowest flu season.
6. Flu has long been the nation’s biggest infectious disease threat. In recent years, it has been blamed for 600,000 to 800,000 annual hospitalizations and 50,000 to 60,000 deaths.
7.  Across the globe, flu activity has been at very low levels in China, Europe, and elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. And that follows reports of little flu in South Africa, Australia, and other countries during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter months of May through August.
8.  Coronavirus has killed more than 500,000 people in the United States.
9. One pediatric flu death has been reported so far this season, compared with 92 reported at the same point in last year’s flu season.
10. More than 190 million flu vaccine doses were distributed this season, but the number of infections is so low that it’s difficult for the CDC to do its annual calculation of how well the vaccine is working.

$52 Million Campaign to Push COVID Vaccinations

1. The Ad Council and COVID Collaborative launched a campaign to encourage Americans to get a COVID-19 vaccine when one is available for them, marking one of the largest public education efforts in the U.S.
2.  More than 300 major brands, media companies, community-based groups, faith leaders and medical experts are championing the campaign.
3. Adobe, Disney, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Spotify, Twitter, Verizon, and YouTube have put their support behind it, as well as the NAACP, NBCUniversal, Telemundo, UnidosUS, ViacomCBS, and the Black Information Network.
4. The campaign emphasizes the message “It’s Up To You” to get vaccinated.
5. Created in partnership with the CDC, the platforms at GetVaccineAnswers.org (and DeTiDepende.org in Spanish) provide the latest information about COVID-19 vaccines and answer frequent questions that people may have. Content is available in seven languages: English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Russian, Haitian Creole, and Vietnamese.
6. The campaign, which is funded by $52 million in private donations, is aimed at building vaccine confidence and clearing up questions about how safe COVID-19 vaccines are and how well they work.
7. About 71% of Americans say they’re willing to get a vaccine, according to a Gallup poll done at the end of January, including 9% who said they already received at least one dose of a vaccine.
8.  At the same time, about 40% of Americans still haven’t made a firm decision about vaccination, according to an Ad Council/Ipsos Public Affairs poll done this month.
9. Getting more people vaccinated will get the country closer to herd immunity, and closer to people returning to their pre-pandemic routines.
10. The campaign will engage the faith community as well through the National Association of Evangelicals, the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, and more than 20 influential leaders across U.S. faith communities.
11.  The campaign will begin to appear nationwide this week on broadcast TV, digital platforms, radio, and social media.
12.  More initiatives will roll out over the coming weeks.

Sources: Ad Council: “It’s Up To You,” “Mask Up America.”

Gallup: “Two-Thirds of Americans Not Satisfied With Vaccine Rollout.”

Hispanicize: “DeTiDepende Special Edition.”

Morbidity and Mortality Report: “Demographic Characteristics of Persons Vaccinated During the First Month of the COVID-19 Vaccination Program — United States, December 24, 2020-January 14, 2021.”

The strain first identified in the U.K. now accounts for 10% of COVID-19 cases in the United States. It is increasing in its prevalence now, and by the end of March, it might be the overwhelming strain that is spreading.

An FDA advisory panel lent their support today to a rapid clearance for Janssen/Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 single dose vaccine. FDA is expected to quickly provide an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the vaccine following the recommendation by the panel. The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 22-0 on this question: Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine outweigh its risks for use in individuals 18 years of age and older?

Long COVID: is now post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, now referred as ‘PASC,’ or P-A-S-C.

healthysoch