Coronavirus: How many people have died in the US 2019-20 flu season?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published figures relating to the number of flu-related deaths and hospitalisations in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
In the USA on Wednesday there were 609,516 cases of coronavirus, causing 26,064 deaths — the highest death toll in the world – but with 49,966 people recovering. In comparison, The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions released their Preliminary In-Season 2019-2020 burden estimates for flu.
The estimates demonstrated that in 2019-2020 flu season there were between 39,000,000 and 56,000,000 illnesses, with 410,000 and 740,000 hospitalisations and between 24,000 and 62,000 deaths caused.
The CDC provides these estimated ranges to reflect the larger burden of influenza, with testing across the USA likely to be higher due to the current Covid-19 crisis. CDC also state that that these ranges may be adjusted downwards once the season concludes and the final data is available.