Undoubtedly the COVID-19 pandemic caused people to be extra vigilant about their health and germs, which in a way, led to many people not getting sick. Great, right? Well, the cold and flu we avoided during lockdown has come back to haunt us in 2022, with data suggesting that this will be the most severe flu season since 2017.
Kinsa, the maker of smart thermometers and app, which receives 100,000 temperature readings and 40,000 symptom inputs daily, says its early-warning system is signaling more and more illness. According to Kinsa’s flu forecast, we can expect a higher-than-usual sniffle season this year, with the flu expected to peak in mid-December. Kinsa’s app tracks illness by age and geography and says that the severity of illness is projected to be up 55% from Q4 of 2017 and 5% from Q1 of 2018.
In a statement, Kinsa says that current surveillance for the flu is delayed because of a lag between when someone first contracts the flu to when they go in for testing and later receive a positive test result. Since Kinsa is an app-connected device, the company can report flu cases much faster than public health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CD). This week the CDC has reported 14.7% testing positive for influenza and 5.8% outpatient respiratory illness visits. The CDC recommends preventative measures to help stop the spread of the flu by washing hands, avoiding those who are sick, getting a flu vaccine, and taking antiviral medication if prescribed by a doctor.
Kinsa says its insights have been helpful to retailers and medicine brands in addressing demand and avoiding shortages and supply chain disruptions.
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