The requirements of the facial mask loosen quickly in the US. UU, but many people say they plan to continue using masks in certain situations, even during the pollen season to reduce allergies and, when they are sick. The security measures of pandemic, which include social distancing and facial masks, reduced the number of influenza infections observed during the most recent influenza season, and may also have crushed the H3N2 influenza clade called 3C3.A.
The pandemic, of course, resulted in a massive change in the way people live and interact. The masks of the face were used to a large extent at any time someone was out of their home, people remained socially distanced from each other, several travel restrictions and test requirements were implemented, and many people began to wash their hands regularly.
Maybe it’s not a surprise, then, that flu and the common cold, but the last winter disappeared. Experts have warned that as many people begin to abandon these security measures, the cold and flu rate can be hidden for next season or two. However, moving forward, developing a vaccine against influenza to help protect people during the flu season can be easier than before.
According to STAT news, pandemic security measures may have driven a variety of influenza to H3N2 virus to extinction, although it is too early to know. H3N2 viruses are more diverse than influenza subtypes to H1N1, which makes it difficult to distribute a vaccine that protects people from the dominant strain from the dominant flu of the season.
An international database is used to record flu virus infections and monitor its evolution over time. The last time the H3N2 3C3.A clade was charged in this database was March 2020, as well as the lineage of the influenza B virus called B / Yamagata. The information was provided by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Computational Research Center Trevor Bedford.
These varieties of influenza virus can still circulate in some regions and it is too early to say if they have gone forever. However, it is possible that pandemic security measures such as the use of facial masks may have reduced the diversity of influenza.
