The influenza epidemic was less intense in 2019-20 than in previous winters. Nevertheless, the simultaneous circulation of the coronavirus and influenza viruses for the winter of 2020-2021 requires close monitoring to measure the impact of these viruses on the health of French people.
In France, the seasonal flu epidemic usually runs from December to April and affects an average of 2.5 million people every year.
In the 2019-2020 season, influenza lasted 9 weeks starting in week 3 (13 January 2020) until week 11 (16 March 2020) when the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted influenza surveillance which could not continue until the end of the period usually in mid-April. As a result, the 2019-2020 influenza season review by Santé publique France covers an incomplete period (read more about Vie-publique.fr).
