By Tim Mastro

DOVER — Every Friday Dr. Karyl Rattay receives a weekly flu report at the Delaware Division of Public Health.

The DPH director has seen a lot of zeros this year. More often than not, there are no flu cases to report for the week.

“This has been the best flu season of my career by far,” Dr. Rattay said.

Only 11 cases of the flu have been recorded by the DPH during the 2020-2021 season. At this time last season, there were 4,383 flu cases to report.

The state is experiencing what countries in the Southern Hemisphere, whose flu season is the reverse of the Northern Hemisphere’s, reported over the summer. The steps which can safeguard individuals against COVID-19 lead to lower amounts of community spread of the flu.

Dr. Bill Chasanov, an infectious disease physician at Beebe Healthcare, said this flu season shows the impact of wearing a face covering, watching one’s physical distance and frequently washing hands.

“You cannot deny that the COVID-19 restrictions have limited the spread of the flu this year too,” Dr. Chasanov said.

Gathering restrictions put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 have also led to low flu numbers.

Schools were also either fully virtual or operating on a hybrid model of some in-person and virtual learning for most of flu season. This took away one of the main areas where the flu is spread.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines the height of flu season as starting in October and lasting anywhere from March to May. The peak is usually by the end of February, according to the CDC, but sometimes that peak can last into March depending on the year.

“It is an incredibly unusual flu season for us,” Dr. Rattay said. “Now we have had some flu seasons where our peak has been in March so I’m still holding my breath in hopes that we don’t see a peak. But all the social-distancing and mask-wearing we are doing is clearly having an impact on spread of influenza. That is a silver-lining or a positive of the mitigation strategies that Delawareans are doing right now.”

Another reason for low flu numbers, according to experts, is Delawareans went out and received their flu vaccines this year.

The state pushed its “Fight the Flu” campaign during the couple of months prior to the start of flu season. The message from the state was there was no vaccine, at that time, for COVID-19, but there was one for the flu so protection could be offered against it, which would prevent a large outbreak of two diseases at once.

Beebe provided about 8,000 doses of flu vaccine to community and team members through its employee health and community flu vaccine events, according to Dr. Chasanov. That total does not include the flu vaccines Beebe provided through its provider’s offices.

Delaware is on track for its best flu season in the last 15 years — the best since a total of just 267 was reported for the entire 2011-2012 season.

For reference, last year’s flu season totaled 7,075 cases of the flu reported to the DPH and 400 individuals ended up hospitalized. There were also 11 recorded deaths due to the flu in the 2019-2020 season, compared to one this season.

By county, Kent County makes up seven of the 11 reported flu cases so far this season. New Castle County has recorded three while Sussex County has had only one reported to the DPH.

The DPH notes its flu data likely does not reflect the total number of individuals who have been infected with the influenza virus in Delaware during the reporting period due to the fact many people ill with influenza-like symptoms do not seek medical care.

While the COVID-19 restrictions such as gathering limits and mask-wearing will go away at the end of the pandemic, Dr. Chasanov said there are lessons to be learned about Delaware’s flu statistics this year — specifically the importance of vaccinations, hand-washing and proper mitigation techniques when ill.

“In order to decrease the spread of the flu or other respiratory viral illnesses, the takeaway points are to ensure for frequent hand washing,” Dr. Chasanov said. “And to make sure that if you are not feeling well, that you keep your distance from others and seek medical help if needed.”