Experts Wonder When This Flu Season Starts - PrecisionVaccinations
The JAMA Network published a Perspective written by Rita Rubin, MA, on August 25, 2021, stating there has been more than a year with virtually no influenza virus outbreaks in the USA. This unusual trend leads to potential scenarios ranging from a repeat of last flu season's numbers to an explosion in influenza cases.
Rubin's article is excerpted below.
'Several what-ifs will determine the upcoming flu season's magnitude, including but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic's continued severity, the extent to which SARS-CoV-2 virus mitigation measures continue to be deployed, and how well flu vaccines are matched to circulating influenza viruses.
Ask those who focus on influenza to describe the 2021-2022 flu season in a single word, and they are likely to reply "unpredictable."
Past flu seasons have followed no pattern. Instead, a mild one is sometimes followed by a severe season, sometimes by another mild one, and vice versa.
"It's hard to say what the impact of a very, very low influenza season is," Ann Moen, MPA, chief of influenza preparedness and response at the WHO, said in an interview with Rubin.
"If it continues like this, it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that you're going to have a more severe season."
However, according to current reports by the WHO, England, and the U.S. CDC, the flu season in the Southern Hemisphere never materialized in 2021.
- August 20, 2021 - The U.S. CDC confirmed (1) influenza-associated pediatric death occurring during the 2020-2021 season. This data compares with last flu season (2019-2020) when (198) children died from influenza-related illness in the USA.
- August 19, 2021 - Public Health England published Week #33 report. A total of 2,690 participants completed the weekly surveillance survey in week #31, of which 63 (2.3%) reported fever or cough and 24 (0.9%) reported influenza-like illness.
- August 16, 2021 - The WHO published Influenza Update N° 400 based on data up to August 1, 2021. Globally, despite continued or even increased testing for influenza in some countries, influenza activity remained at lower levels than expected for this time of the year.
The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee published its composition recommendations for the 2021-2022 flu season.
The good news is the USA is stocked with flu vaccines for Fall 2021.
As of August 26, 2021, the U.S. FDA confirmed the number of flu vaccine lots released and available for distribution by pharma manufacturers. The data indicates about 193 million flu shots will be available in the USA. There were (35) lots for Afluria Quadrivalent from Seqirus Pty. Ltd., followed by (31) Fluarix Quadrivalent from GSK Biologicals, and (25) lots for FluLaval Quadrivalent from ID Biomedical Corporation of Quebec.
'Most people over 6-months of age are encouraged to get vaccinated every flu season since influenza infections can create severe consequences,' says the CDC's website.
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