CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- All of the steps we’re taking to stop the spread of COVID appear to be having a positive effect.
WBBM Newsradio’s Nancy Harty reported flu cases are barely registering at local doctor’s offices.
The Chicago Department of Public Health said since the start of this flu season, only one of the more than 12,000 specimens tested for flu was positive; and the number of those tested was down seven percent from the year before.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Department of Public Health said the flu has sent eight people to the ICU this flu season.
And while many doctors in 2020 expressed fears of a so-called “twindemic” – fearing a surge of COVID-19 cases could hit at the same time as a flu outbreak, the flu has not been showing up in primary care offices.
“The flu has been really unusual this year," said Dr. Lisa Ravindra, with Rush University Medical Center. “We haven’t seen any cases of the flu in my office."
She told CBS 2 in a typical year, “my schedule would be comprised of maybe a third of patients with cough/cold flu-like symptoms."
But this year things have been different, the flu has been a no-show.
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Dr. Ravindra said the fear of contracting COVID-19 and the flu at the same time had a record number of people get flu shots.
“I think that that encouraged people to get the flu vaccine. So in the U.S., we’ve vaccinated more people than ever before for the flu,” Dr. Ravindra said.
According to the CDC, as of Dec. 25, 2020, more than 192 million doses of flu vaccine have been distributed. That coupled with the measures people are taking to slow the spread of coronavirus are also helping slow the spread of flu: social distancing, wearing masks, staying home, washing hands, and limiting travel.
And if you haven’t gotten a flu shot yet, doctors say it’s not too late.