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Though flu activity in the United States remains well below expected levels for this time of year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported the first pediatric flu death of the 2020-21 season, a child who died from influenza B. The percentage of respiratory specimens that were positive for flu last week was 0.2%, and the percentage of clinic visits for flulike illness stayed at 1.6% for the third week in a row. Deaths from flu, pneumonia, and COVID-19 were at 14.3%, well above the 6.5% epidemic threshold, but with the vast majority deaths due to COVID-19. The CDC cautioned that flu patterns should be interpreted with caution, due to impacts from COVID-19. (12/11)

Despite the horrifying surge of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the United States right now, one bit of good news is emerging this winter: It looks unlikely that the country will endure a “twindemic” of both flu and the coronavirus at the same time. That comes as a profound relief to public health officials who predicted as far back as April that thousands of flu victims with pneumonia could pour into hospitals this winter, competing with equally desperate Covid-19 pneumonia victims for scarce ventilators. (McNeil Jr., 12/13)

In a study released this month, a team of researchers at New York University found that fears about virus transmissions in public transportation systems could be exaggerated. While acknowledging that “transportation of any type is clearly associated with the spread of disease from one geographic region to another,” researchers from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service and the Rudin Center for Transportation found that high public transportation ridership didn’t necessarily translate to a greater number of deaths from seasonal flu or pneumonia. (Aratani, 12/11)

The coronavirus behind the pandemic presents some vexing dualities. It’s dangerous enough that it dispatches patients to hospitals in droves and has killed more than 1.6 million people, but mild enough that most people shrug it off. It blocks one arm of the immune system from responding as it takes hold, but lures other parts into dangerous hyperdrive. It homes in on cells high up in the airway — think the nose and throat — but also burrows deeper into the lungs, maximizing infectiousness without ceding how sick it can make people. (Joseph, 12/14)

A scratch-and-sniff screening tool that identifies impaired sense of smell, a common symptom of COVID-19, could help quickly pinpoint cases, CBS News reports. Researchers from the University of Colorado in Boulder studied a smell test called U-Smell-It, which combines the use of a scratch-and-sniff card with different scents and an app where users input what they smelled. The app then alerts users if it detects an impaired sense of smell, indicating the need for a standard COVID-19 test.  (Carbajal, 12/11)

Three snow leopards at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky tested positive for COVID-19 Friday, marking the sixth animal species to be infected with the highly-contagious virus after contact with humans. The zoo said two males and a female contracted the virus and that their symptoms are currently “mild” and include wheezing and dry coughing. All three are anticipated to make a full recovery. No other animals at the zoo are exhibiting symptoms. (Axelrod, 12/11)

Now, with one vaccine vaccine having gained U.S. clearance and the other close behind, the pandemic validation could wrench open a whole new field of medicine. “We are now entering the age of mRNA therapeutics,” said Derrick Rossi, a former Harvard University stem-cell biologist who helped found Moderna in 2010. “The whole world has seen this. There is going to be increased investment and increased resources.” In some ways, the global pandemic was the perfect proving ground for the new technology as deep-pocketed backers -- including Pfizer -- became more willing to take a risk. But the effort was only possible because BioNTech and Moderna Inc. had worked on messenger RNA for years. (Kresge and Langreth, 12/13)