DAYTON — Since the start of 2022, there have been more than 400,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ohio — shrinking influenza cases in comparison, especially when it comes to hospitalizations and deaths. 

What You Need To Know

  • Flu season has been uncharacteristically mild for the second-straight year

  • There have been only 570 hospitalizations reported and no deaths on record

  • One doctor in Dayton explains the trends, drawing a correlation between the rise of the pandemic and fall of influenza cases

  • Flu shots are still available for those concerned about catching the virus
​​The Ohio Department of Health reported flu hospitalizations in Ohio have stayed well below the five-year average with just 570 hospitalizations reported this flu season, a period dating back to October. 

For the week of Feb. 6-12, only 33 flu patients were hospitalized in Ohio, according to ODH. The five-year average during the same period is 629. 

A week-by-week national illustration from the Center of Disease Control shows how flu season peaked at the turn of the year.

With 2020 also having unusually low flu numbers, a big question asks is it the new trend to expect for flu cases moving forward? One expert said it’s hard to predict.  

“Last year was just crazy. There’s never been a year with no flu like that before,” Kettering Health Patient Safety Officer Dr. Jeffrey Weinstein said. “Now were having an extremely mild season, not quite like last year but very unusual. It may depend on whether COVID is around or not, because COVID puts people’s defenses up.”

Weinstein said he sees a cause-and-effect relationship between the two viruses. 

“Every year there's a sizable flu season, we average between anywhere from 20-80,000 people dying in the United States every year for influenza,” he said. “And now, we have two years with very few deaths. I think it is directly related to COVID. I think most virologists and epidemiologists agree that it's something about the COVID pandemic that has affected the epidemic of influenza.”

As to why the flu has been more mild as of late, he pointed to increased hygiene practices and COVID-19 protocols as primary factors.

“One thing we’ve learned, certainly, is that wearing masks and social distancing seems to certainly help blunt the influenza epidemic that we have every winter,” Weinstein said. 

While flu season isn’t over for another couple of months, Weinstein did stress the importance of continuing to keep the case numbers low, especially with the pandemic still raging on. 

“Sometimes, we get a late peak of Influenza B that can occur in March or April,” he said. “So it's actually not too late to get a flu shot. Obviously, if you're not vaccinated against COVID, we would highly recommend that because, you know, unfortunately, there's still COVID out there. It's gone way down, but it's still out there. And then there are other surges that could come in the future so that those things would be, you know, still recommended, strongly recommended.”