Weak Flu Season Highlights Difference Between Flu and Pandemic

SEATTLE — If you've spent time online or on social media this year, it's likely you've come across someone who dismisses COVID-19 as "just the flu," claiming that the resulting pandemic lockdowns and restrictions have been an overreaction.

While it's fair to debate the way our government is or isn't handling the pandemic well, one thing is certain: this year's flu season has nothing on COVID-19.

As of the latest update to the Washington State Department of Health's COVID-19 Dashboard, 3,016 Washingtonians have been killed by the coronavirus pandemic this year. 49 died Wednesday alone. In stark contrast, there have been 0 lab-confirmed deaths flu deaths in Washington for the entire 2020-2021 flu season thus far.

The big caveat here is that flu season has really just begun, but if the past few weeks are any indication, this season will be weaker than most recent years.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control show the current flu season is starting off weaker than any other season in the last decade.

And Washington in particular is having a lower than average flu season. The state DOH reports that, for the week ending Nov 28, 0.8 percent of urgent care visits in the state were flu related, exactly half the nationwide average, where 1.6 percent of urgent visits were due to the flu. Washington has also yet to see a flu outbreak in a long term care facility.

State officials say that's good news, because the last thing Washington's medical system needs right now is a rush of new flu patients competing for space with COVID-19 patients. By Tuesday, 80 percent of Washington's ICU beds were occupied, as were 81.1 percent of all hospital beds across the state — just one more reason that health officials are urging everyone to consider the flu shot this year while we wait for the coronavirus vaccine.

Read the Washington State Department of Health's latest influenza update.