Using this data:

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyarchives2019-2020/data/NCHSData17.csv

Table 1 from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm

There is clearly something afoul with the data this year.

I started side project b/c the chart that Q post referenced (>>8988998 pb) seems to be missing from the CDC website.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/#S2

So, I found the above Week 17 data file on the CDC website (by first finding the one referenced in the Q chart:

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyarchives2019-2020/data/NCHSData12.csv)

and started digging in.

As a disclaimer, the Provisional data for COVID doesn't quite match up with the CSV file's data, presumably because of how they are defining "week number". The week numbers on the COVID chart are not 100% accurate because of that. Could be off as much as 1 week in either direction.

Also, the large spike in 2018 Flu deaths led me here:

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2017-2018.htm

Feel free to critique.