Flu Cases on the Rise as People Are Using Their Face Masks Less

Cases of influenza are on the rise as people are moving away from using their face masks.

Last year, flu cases were on a steady decline as more people were masked up to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As COVID-19 cases start to decline, more people are tossing their masks to the side, resulting in flu case numbers rising.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control released its past recent flu report, showing there have been at least 3.1 million flu illnesses this season so far. Additionally, there have been 31,000 hospitalizations and 1,800 deaths from this flu season. The most common strain this season has been H3N2.

The CDC recommends protecting yourself by getting a flu vaccine every six months “as long as the flu continues.”

During a chat with CNN, Dr. Angela Branche, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Rochester, said the rise in cases isn’t something to worry about. “I have been tracking recent influenza activity nationally and locally. We are not surprised that influenza activity is increasing,” she said.

“In a non-pandemic year, this pattern of flu activity would not be entirely unusual; to see influenza cases peak in January and then decline, with another surge in early Spring,” Branche continued PEOPLE reports.