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Original poster

No flu season anywhere in the world this year ...

304 replies

Dustyboots · 15/02/2021 23:50

Christina Pagel (alternative SAGE) has just said this on Newsnight. She says there's been no flu season anywhere in the world this year because of Covid restrictions etc

Does anyone else know whether this is the case?

She was suggesting that if we kept restrictions up we could eliminate Covid and in the future eliminate most things, therefore reducing deaths forever!

I think she's a bit potty.

OP posts:
Heatheronthehill · 15/02/2021 23:57

Surely there would be over population issues if there were no deaths from any virus?!

Original poster
Dustyboots · 16/02/2021 00:04

Yes - and humans die ... it's a good thing, not just for the environment etc

We all need to learn to accept that.

I'm interested in whether the flu season has really disappeared this year around the whole world. I wonder if that is true?

OP posts:
LacyEdge · 16/02/2021 00:08

If there really hasn’t been a flu season this year, that might finally prove to the “sceptics” that Covid isn’t just a bad flu equivalent. All the measures we’ve been taking have cut flu down to almost zero transmission, but we’ve still had shedloads of Covid regardless.

Beaniecats · 16/02/2021 00:12

There has
It's called covid

tiger8288 · 16/02/2021 00:14

Common flight cases have decreased dramatically in Asia due to people all wearing masks, thus the lowered transmission rate.

This is according to my GP. His GP friend in Hong Kong says the number of patients that come in with flu has lowered a lot compared to previous winters.

tiger8288 · 16/02/2021 00:15

@tiger8288

Common flight cases have decreased dramatically in Asia due to people all wearing masks, thus the lowered transmission rate.

This is according to my GP. His GP friend in Hong Kong says the number of patients that come in with flu has lowered a lot compared to previous winters.

Common flu not flight!
Original poster
Dustyboots · 16/02/2021 00:16

All the measures we’ve been taking have cut flu down to almost zero transmission, but we’ve still had shedloads of Covid regardless.

Yes that's true.

OP posts:
Eleoura · 16/02/2021 00:17

I'd like to know how many more people have the flu vaccine last season? In my experience, there were a great deal more this year having it for the 1st time, so along with distancing and masks, this must have some effect on numbers.

Jgdgjbdssvuuuuu · 16/02/2021 00:19

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ErrolTheDragon · 16/02/2021 00:23

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Jgdgjbdssvuuuuu · 16/02/2021 00:24

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PPNC · 16/02/2021 00:25

Yes Flu has been almost eradicated. There are 3 schools of thought:

1 - Some Covid cases/deaths are actually flu under another name if treated symptomatically and not actually tested. Symptoms are the same sort of.

2 - we eradicated flu with distancing etc measures

3 - viruses “fight” each other, they don’t like sharing a host so flu has basically been kicked out of his territory by Covid

1 - I think is fully possible

2 - I think is bollocks because we would have eradicated Covid too

3 - I’d have to be a virologist to understand. Seems both logical and illogical when we do sometimes get 2 viruses at the same time living in us.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 16/02/2021 00:28

Hmm Can’t we just mute the people who played truant from biology class?

SunshiningBetty · 16/02/2021 00:29

Hear hear

GreenLlama · 16/02/2021 00:30

Surely saying Covid-19 is a different virus to flu isn't an opinion but a concrete fact Confused

ThatchersCold · 16/02/2021 00:33

2 or 3 weeks ago I read two articles published on the same day.

One was marvelling at how colds and flu had been pretty much eradicated this year, record lows apparently.

The second (I think it was gov.U.K.) saying that the ‘new U.K. strain’ had different symptoms to traditional covid. These were high temperature, fever, aches and pains, sore throat. Basically what I could glean from this was that flu had been rebranded as the new U.K. strain.

Original poster
Dustyboots · 16/02/2021 00:33

Thank you PPNC

That makes sense. I'm not a scientist but I wondered whether they'd 'fought' each other and Covid had won.

Could Flu be eradicated forever and Covid take it's place perhaps?

OP posts:
Brownteddybear · 16/02/2021 00:33

It's well known that when one virus is circulating that others become less prevalent. This is not news.

Similarly Covid cases will naturally lessen in the warmer months as this tends to happen with corona type viruses.

Original poster
Dustyboots · 16/02/2021 00:36

@ThatchersCold - that throws a different light on it.

As I say, I'm not a scientist at all. Mind you if it was 'just' this year's flu that had been rebranded as the new U.K Covid strain it would be causing a lot more deaths than flu normally does - wouldn't it?

OP posts:
FromEden · 16/02/2021 00:36

She was suggesting that if we kept restrictions up we could eliminate Covid and in the future eliminate most things, therefore reducing deaths forever!

Because the whole point of life is just avoiding death and not actually living and enjoying our time. Ffs, these people scare me. Of course barely going outside reduces deaths but I'd rather not live like that

ErrolTheDragon · 16/02/2021 00:38

@ThatchersCold

2 or 3 weeks ago I read two articles published on the same day.

One was marvelling at how colds and flu had been pretty much eradicated this year, record lows apparently.

The second (I think it was gov.U.K.) saying that the ‘new U.K. strain’ had different symptoms to traditional covid. These were high temperature, fever, aches and pains, sore throat. Basically what I could glean from this was that flu had been rebranded as the new U.K. strain.

You gleaned wrong.

The new variant has been sequenced, its a variation on covid. Completely different to an influenza.
This is not a matter of opinion or guesswork.

ThatchersCold · 16/02/2021 00:42

@Dustyboots the excess deaths is a curious thing. I was speaking to my DM on Friday who was a local politician, she said she had been in a meeting that week where it was discussed that the figures had come in and this area had NO excess deaths in 2020. Makes you wonder why we were put in tier 3 and then 4 in nov-dec.

OppsUpsSide · 16/02/2021 00:46

Maybe COVID and flu are having some sort of epic virus battle, with little virus light sabres and shit, and flu has had to retreat behind enemy lines.

Watchingbehindmyhands · 16/02/2021 00:47

”It's a completely different virus” That’s your opinion

Seriously?

Original poster
Dustyboots · 16/02/2021 00:47

I think ErrolTheDragon has a point though @ThatchersCold - the new variant has been sequenced. They know it's a new variation of Covid, rather than Flu - don't they?

So my point about excess deaths was irrelevant.

OP posts: