Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
COVID-19 precautions drive down flu cases
A citizen receives a flu vaccine shot at a clinic in Seoul in this October 2020 photo. / Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise here, the number of flu patients is significantly lower this winter compared to last year.
Each year, the country grapples with a flu season which usually begins at the end of November, reaching its peak in December and lasting to as late as April
Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a contagious respiratory disease caused by a family of viruses that infect the nose, throat and even lungs in serious cases. Common symptoms of the illness include a high fever, coughing and a sore throat.
As it may lead to respiratory complications ― and causes around 2,000 deaths each year according to data from the Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency (KDCA) ― the health authorities closely monitor the highly contagious virus every season.
The authorities have paid closer attention this season out of concerns that a flu surge during the COVID-19 pandemic could put an incredible strain on the public healthcare system. The government had rolled out a massive free flu vaccine program, which covered over 14 million people as of Dec. 31.
However, it seems that the country may have avoided the “twindemic” thanks to COVID-19-induced restrictions.
According to weekly data from the KDCA, only 2.5 out of 1,000 visitors to hospitals were reported to have influenza-like symptoms during the Dec. 20 to 26 period, far below the criteria for issuing an epidemic warning which is 5.8. The figure is also a steep decline from 49.8 in the same period last year.
During the same week, only six people nationwide were hospitalized for flu treatment, an enormous decrease compared with 1,331 in 2019.
“The seasonal flu remains below the epidemic level and the virus detection rate is low at 0.1 percent,” KDCA commissioner Jeong Eun-kyung said in a Jan. 4 briefing.
Shi Hye-jin, an infectious disease professor at Gachon University Gil Medical Center, attributed the small number of flu cases to COVID-19 precautions ― face masks, social distancing and personal hygiene.
“The current environment in which physical contact between people is highly limited seems to have had a huge impact on common respiratory illnesses including the flu,” Shi told The Korea Times.
Shi added that personal hygiene may have had a bigger influence than the government's aggressive vaccination plans. “It may be a little early to make conclusions as we haven't measured the exact efficacy of the vaccine program, but the unprecedented drop in flu cases is more likely to have resulted from the COVID-19 social distancing rules,” she said.
Reduced travel between countries and the mandatory two-week self-quarantine rule for foreign arrivals have also factored in, as the flu travels around the world from one winter to another.
But Shi warned that the country should remain vigilant of the flu with more than two months left until the end of the season.
A study released last October by a group of researchers at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital found that the number of flu patients for the 2019-2020 season had also declined following the coronavirus outbreak in February last year.
Since the first COVID-19 infection case reported in the country, 3,232 influenza patients have been hospitalized, down 52.7 percent from 6,841 in the 2017-2018 season.
The report added similar phenomena have been observed in other respiratory diseases caused by adenoviruses, respiratory syncytial viruses and human para-influenza viruses.
“Vaccination is an effective way to prevent the flu, but not 100 percent. Strictly adhering to personal hygiene management and enhancing public healthcare systems will significantly reduce cases of infectious respiratory diseases such as influenza,” said professor Kim Hong-bin, who led the research.