Approaching flu season could overwhelm health care systems

In 2020, talk of flu season was overshadowed by the rapid rise of COVID-19 and cases were low. In 2021, the story surrounding flu season will be different altogether.

With a third wave of COVID-19 beginning to surge in Arizona and across the U.S., largely among the unvaccinated, health experts warn that this year’s influenza won’t be tamped down the way it was last year.

“I think certainly nationally and locally in Arizona that we’re going to see a more significant flu season than what we did last year. Last year was really an anomaly,” said Joan Ivaska, senior director of infection prevention at Phoenix-based Banner Health. “We had a lot of restrictions in place to control COVID And that really suppressed flu activity.”