Since the coronavirus outbreak when was the last time, we heard someone who is sick said ‘I have the flu’? Though both viruses have very similar symptoms, shockingly enough the flu cases this flu season is little to none. When someone is sick and they go to the doctor’s office or the hospital with the standard symptoms of the flu these days they are not just tested for the flu but for the coronavirus as well. According to the ‘The Pandemic Broke the Flu’ article from ‘The Atlantic’ “Binnicker’s lab conducted 20,000 flu tests last year in the beginning of the flu season and zero came back positive.”

Most people including some medical professionals thought that there would be more flu cases this season as there usually is around this time of the year. Which raises the question to many does the flu still exist, or has covid forced the virus to go dormant? Are healthcare professionals so focused on try to get this new strain of virus that can be deadly to most under control that the flu and other influenza viruses have gone unnoticed or over looked? As we all know the healthcare workers all over the world are doing the best they can to try and ensure the safety of each patients they care for. However, there is only so much our nurses and doctors can do.

Most of us are scared to seek medical attention if we show any symptom that maybe related to covid. We are afraid of the results which is understandable because of what we’ve heard from the news, or what some of us have even witness firsthand what some individuals went through that has had the virus. As scary as it is in these times to go to the doctor it is most important that we keep up with our doctor visits and schedule appointments to meet with a doctor, no matter how we feel. We may fear that we might test positive for covid when in reality it may not even be covid but some unrelated but also serious.

This flu season has had the lowest cases, this is not only happening in the United States but worldwide as well. The one thing that has been rising in cases worldwide is the coronavirus cases, why is that? Are we not washing our hands enough, do we need better mask, do we need to social distant more, are we not disinfecting enough? There are individuals who are flowing the CDC guidelines and are still testing positive some have a worst experience than others and unfortunately millions worldwide don’t survive. How do we stop the numbers from rising to get this virus under control?

Now there is a virus that is much more contagious than the coronavirus and the flu. As with the flu, it is easier to detect therefore easier to treat. When you have the flu, it is easily treated with cold meds, some good chicken soup, and lots of rest. Though these viruses are very similar to the flu why can’t they be treated just as easily? With the covid when one test positive you are required to quarantine for 14 days along with anyone in your household, take Tylenol for the fever and pain meds for the aching muscles, and watch for signs of breathing complications. As with the new variant that was found in the UK, Australia, and Africa doctors are still trying to figure out how to treat this virus and lower the death toll that is already rising drastically. As a healthcare worker who has experienced and worked with patients who had the covid, I can say from personal experience it is one of the hardest things to see a patient suffering from covid even though I try to do the best I can to make them comfortable especially while they are on their death bed due to the virus it is still heartbreaking because I often wish there was something more I could do.