Early Indicators Predict Influenza Will Not Be Bad

Over 6.5 million Americans have tested positive for COVID-19 since the infection began nearly a year ago, and as the contamination continues to spread across the country and treatment options advance, the national death rate has settled below 3%.

With data changing daily, the CDC recently released shocking statistics addressing high risk demographics.

Only 6% of COVID-19 related deaths in the US have coronavirus listed as the single cause of death.

On average, 2.6 additional conditions or causes were present in 94% of coronavirus related deaths in the United States between February and August.

Top contributing causes included:

  • Influenza and pneumonia
  • Respiratory failure
  • Hypertensive disease
  • Diabetes
  • Vascular and unspecified dementia
  • Cardiac arrest

With influenza season around the corner, concern continues to rise regarding the potential increase in COVID-19 cases and how the seasonal flu outbreak will be affected. Will reported cases of either illness drop due to masks and social distancing, or will isolation weaken immune systems causing a spike in either or both illnesses?

To the surprise of many, as coronavirus cases increased in the southern hemisphere, the flu infection rate dropped dramatically – and in some cases nearly disappeared altogether.

In South Africa, health officials did not document enough influenza cases to report a seasonal epidemic in 2020; in Argentina the number of confirmed cases dropped 64% year over year. Additionally, Chile documented approximately 1,134 seasonal respiratory infections as compared to the 20,949 during the same period in 2019.

The drop in cases is attributed to masks, social distancing, and travel restrictions, but some medical professionals are concerned the fall in reported infections could also be influenced by those too scared to leave their homes, allowing countless cases to go undetected.

At Right Way Medical, we have seen significant growth in home treatments to continue to provide care for those who cannot travel to treatment centers. With extra precautions for in-home care providers, home infusion has allowed patients to continue with their care in a comfortable setting while limiting the risk of additional diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza.

The United States has already seen a drop in flu cases since the start of COVID-19, but as we head into Autumn and Americans become antsy to find a sense of normalcy, there is not enough data to predict the number of flu cases will decrease as drastically as southern countries.

Though early statistics indicate a potential lighter flu season in the US, Right Way Medical is prepared for the continual increase in home infusion therapies.  Our hope is that our efforts in delivering timely products and services to our clients will drastically reduce recovery times for patients with the greatest need and allow all patients and practitioners to truly get back to normal.

 

 

About Right Way Medical

Right Way Medical provides supply, logistic, technology, biomedical and financing solutions to alternate site, long-term care and specialty pharmacy healthcare providers through an innovative suite of products and services combined with the highest level of customer service. Founded in 2014, Right Way Medical has become a trusted name in the infusion industry and focuses every day to continue to earn that trust and provide its customers with the ideal experience in acquiring healthcare related products and service.

Contact the Right Way Medical Team at sales@rightwaymed.com or 866.948.4191.

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