Will there be a winter flu season this winter if social distancing measures are still in place?

[HeadAndShouldersPerson]

and elderly people are still cocooning to a large degree?
Just curious really. People say it'll be terrible if we have a second wave of c-19 during winter flu season but there may not be a winter flu season this year.
Or am I a naive optimist?

Yes there will be. Thousands of people are still getting ill with colds etc and getting a negative test for covid, so things are still spreading. I've also noticed less people seem to care about keeping any distance now in towns.

I think there will be unfortunately yes. I was also wondering - this might be a silly question - if you can have two serious viruses at once, so flu + Covid?

It should be reduced if people wear masks and practice good social distancing and hygiene.
Hopefully we get a good flu vaccine this year as well. I will probably have one for the first time ever.

Less so hopefully as the previously skanky cockwombles who didn’t wash their hands after using the toilet or going on public transport have now learnt how to.

Plus supermarket trollers/door handles etc & other major routes of transmission are being sanitised & are no longer covered in snot and faeces, germy toys in doctor’s surgeries have been removed and Doctors are having phone consultations instead of people waiting rammmed into packed waiting rooms. Commercial food preparation standards have improved and people will be working from home more or working behind Perspex screens.

All of it will hopefully contribute greatly to lessen the spread of communicable illnesses - I’ve never understood the rationale that people have that ‘you’ll just get it anyway if you’re going to get it’, erm - these illnesses are spread predominantly by poor hygiene practices & lack of awareness & this has to be one positive that comes out of this awful time!

@chipsandgin agree, there should be less spread of all viruses with increased hygiene and social distancing.

Along the same lines, I was wondering about head lice!

I actually wonder if flu and sickness bugs etc will be worse this winter as all our immune systems will be so low from social distancing and isolating?

It might be better if everyone takes vitamins (including at least 10 micrograms of D).
It does make you wonder who is normally spreading it.
Hospitals? Hcp? Schools?

Handwashing didnt seem to do much...But might slow other viruses.

It wont stop flu etc as schools are going back with pretty much no measures as are preschools.
But i guess big events/gatherings and PT might make a difference.
In normal times we dont need to get rid of all getms but im not again say the shields in front of shop etc staying up. Taxis do they have barriers now? And hcp having surgical masks seems sensible as they must generally spread normal colds/flu to the ill patients.
Our lack of handwashing places is quite disgusting. So would be nice if there were some
outside say a library where you have to use a touch screen
In playgrounds
At kids parties and soft play etc
So kids can wash their hands at school before snacks or lunch.

The change from using cash might make a small difference.

Hopefully there will be enough flu jab as it sounded like there may not. And hopefully early as if a wave does come you dont want people to have to come out for it.
My dc is at school but wouldnt have it done last year we had to hold them down at another clinic so that is something to look forward to.

You are more likely to get seriously ill if you get covid and something else too.

I also believe it'll be worse. Schools are going back in September all year groups. Many kids haven't mixed. Work places will be back. People will stop caring about social distancing (many arent bothering now)

I've got a stinking cold, earache, all the snot, sore throat. I'm in school, but not really with kids.... still got ill.

You certainly can get more than one virus at once. Studies of the other (mild, not SARS, ones like OC43) Coronaviruses have shown many patients are infected with more than one virus.

We will likely get a flu season and demand for flu vaccines is expected to be very high this year.

@ohthegoats I have a stinking cold too - I've been to Tesco very briefly once in the last week and the only other people I've seen have been my parents and we SD from them. I have no idea where it's come from!

im in a town at the moment, north west, and people here are still fairly seriously going along with the 'rules'.
it surprised me as, stereotypically at least, the people here would be the first to be labelled as booze thugs.

a bar in town, usually renowned for fighting and issues has people in beer garden behaving very well. even friendlier than usual. for whatever reason, it's bizarre!

and to veer back on topic - I havent had a cold for 2 years, this is unusual for me and im feeling peculiar about it.
DP convinced he had covid in December.
as far as im aware it was a very mild dose of man flu (slight sore throat, feeling off - no temp, cough or tiredness).

occasionally I get man flu, just not recently.
im not immune even though im a woman ;)

If people social distance etc they are also less likely to get flu.

I was reading that Australia (currently winter there obviously!) is having a mild winter flu season compared to previous years. They are putting it down to more hand washing an better hygiene practices generally.

@BikeRunSki

Along the same lines, I was wondering about head lice!

Talking about headline- within two weeks of my son's nursery reopening a message went home to parents to check for head lice as there as several cases spotted! I couldn't believe it.

"elderly people are still cocooning to a large degree"

They are in the 'flu jab' vulnerable group (sometimes called the moderate risk group), along with the pregnant, the obese, most with asthma and both types of diabetes, plus a number of other health conditions.

Age has never been a criterion for the exceptionally clinically vulnerable group (aka high risk, shield, and occasionally cocoon)

So I don't think there will be any particular reason for people to be out of circulation just because of age.

Are you saying you think the shielded should be bampnged up against, and the 'flu jab' groups shouid all go into a form of winter isolation?

Re headlice
I work in a school. We took the vulnerable in early on.
Riddled with lice. Giant lice who had weeks to grow into monstrous beasts in lockdown.

Parents who don't notice are always parent that simply don't notice. During which time, the lice got BIG.

Thankfully we don't have many kids in so we actually targeted the parent this time. We don't usually, we send the polite headlice in school please check your child email. As that wasn't relevant, it was a joy to pick up the phone and tell them. Problem solved!

Interesting about headlice, it would have been a good opportunity to eradicate them. But it only takes a couple of the little blighters to start the whole thing off again.
I know it was suggested that new infections of HIV could be stopped during lockdown, will be interesting to see what happens.