COVID-19 precautions have led to low levels of influenza

Mall owners and operators who spent big money outfitting their enclosed spaces with state of the art air purification and sanitation systems might have helped make medical history.

A test of 25,000 Americans in early January found fewer than 1% of them infected with influenza. A similar test of 50,000 samples conducted last year detected a 23% positive rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“This is an extremely puzzling phenomenon. We’re in a historic, unbelievable situation,” World Health Organization affiliated pediatrician Norio Sugaya told the Wall Street Journal.

The WHO has posited that social distancing and mask-wearing, along with the release of COVID-19 vaccines, have had much to do with the obliteration of the flu.

The medical miracle is manifesting itself worldwide. Just some 1,000 flu patients were diagnosed with the flu in Japan in the second week of January compared to 800,000 last year. England, meanwhile, reported no cases at all in the first week of 2021.