A woman receives the annual flu shot. The flu weakens a person, making contracting the coronavirus potentially even worse. | By NIAID
A woman receives the annual flu shot. The flu weakens a person, making contracting the coronavirus potentially even worse. | By NIAID
More than 28,000 Cook County residents contracted strains of influenza during the 2017-2018 flu season, far more than the 4,767 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported here so far, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
Skeptics may point out the coronavirus might only have reached Cook County by January, but in the first three months of 2018, confirmed cases of influenza totaled 6,516, with nine fewer days than in the available COVID-19 data.
“Most of us are familiar with seasonal influenza or the ‘flu,’ a viral infection that, despite annual vaccinations, results in approximately 36,000 deaths in the United States, including 2,000 in Illinois, and 200,000 hospitalizations annually,” the IDPH states on its website.
During the 2017-2018 influenza season, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported a high severity season for the virus. Emergency departments and outpatient clinics reported high levels of visits for influenza-like illnesses. And public health officials reported to the CDC high influenza-related hospitalization rates.
The Cook County and Illinois Departments of Public Health don’t record deaths attributed to influenza by season. Only pediatric mortality figures are collected on a weekly basis. But they do compile these annual morbidity figures.
In 2017, a total of 908 Cook County residents died from influenza and pneumonia, the Cook County Department of Public Health reported. In 2018, the figure rose to 984 deaths. Either year had significantly more deaths than the 153 attributed to COVID-19 in Cook County so far this year.
To add some perspective to those annual morbidity rates, the two departments calculated that Cook County had 38,987 confirmed cases of influenza from Jan. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 2018. During that same period, there were 1,892 deaths due to influenza and pneumonia.
For years these public health officials have shared ways to avoid the spread of these annual strains of viruses. Wash your hands every time you touch something that’s not yours – and even if it is. Stay at home if you feel sick, which sounds a lot like today’s stay-at-home orders. Cover your cough and sneeze. As symptoms became severe, patients were encouraged to consult with their health professional and only head to medical facilities on the advice of their doctor.
In 2009, the CDC reported that a new H1N1 influenza virus emerged. That caused the first global flu pandemic in 40 years. School closures went into effect, but recommendations were for closures only where H1N1 cases had been reported.
What has been the deadlier virus in Cook County? Historically it’s been the annual strains of influenza.
Alerts Sign-up