Flu Seasons Compared: 8 Questions on 2020-2021 and What Might Happen This Year

Winter is Coming

Fans of the HBO show “Game of Thrones” will remember this ominous phrase as a metaphor for the next bad thing around the corner. When a primary care physician mentions this to a fellow doctor, they both know it is code for “flu season and long hours are coming.”

While it is difficult to say anything good about COVID-19, one positive that came out of it was the 2020-2021 flu season -- the mildest across all metrics reported by the CDC: cases, deaths, hospitalizations, etc. For example, a single pediatric flu death was reported last season. In the previous flu season, 199 children died from the flu.

Test what you know about flu seasons past and what the flu season present might have in store with 8 questions based on the history.

Resources:

• CDC – How CDC Classifies Flu Severity
• CDC – COVID-19 Data Tracker
• FDA – Vaccines Licensed in the United States
• CDC – Flu Vaccine and People with Egg Allergies