Concerns are growing that the influenza epidemic may begin as the COVID-19 pandemic turns into an endemic and social distancing such as lifting outdoor masks is eased.

As the flu is showing signs of a full-fledged epidemic in Australia, one of the southern hemisphere countries that uses the flu as an indicator of the flu epidemic in the second half of the year, concerns are also being raised. It is pointed out that it is necessary to prepare countermeasures as the flu vaccination rate has fallen due to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, and there may be repercussions from the release of masks.

In the case of the flu epidemic, the epidemic scenario in the north