A possible silver lining in the coronavirus pandemic: fewer flu cases

Is the drop a side effect of COVID precautions? - News 11's Adonis Albright asks a doctor

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - This year's flu season has been largely overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. But perhaps there's a silver lining to come of it: fewer cases of influenza. Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC) said this year's flu season hasn't been as active as previous years.

Dr. Matthew Bishop said it's possible this could be because of all the preventative measures being taken to curb the pandemic, including wearing a mask, social distancing and frequent hand washing.

“There’s some reason that that’s not happening, and there’s some speculation that is because we are adopting these universal masking precautions", said Dr. Bishop.

Perhaps even more surprising; YRMC reports the number of hospitalized patients with the flu every every day, and that number has often times been zero since flu season began.

“There’s really a big concerted effort to prevent the transmission of flu, we know a lot more about it, we have had vaccines for many years and we know that respiratory droplets are one of the biggest causes of flu transmission. So, things like wearing masks are very important to prevent that transmission", said Dr. Bishop.

Despite the good news, medical professionals are still encouraging you to get your flu shot to protect yourself and others.

“In general it’s a great idea for the community, we don’t want to burden the health system with more flu cases if we have something that’s easily preventing this."

YRMC says if you are feeling any flu-like symptoms and you feel like you need to get checked out, don't be scared to visit your doctor. The hospital says all necessary precautions are being taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to make sure patients are receiving the treatment they need, while still staying safe.