Doctors have warned Americans to prepare for a nightmarish winter that will bring a cocktail of seasonal illnesses such as influenza, COVID and resurgent RSV.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the winter respiratory season could lead to 100,000 hospitalizations this year.
The pandemic has reduced cases of seasonal flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), but experts say all three diseases are widespread this year.
The latest figures from the CDC show that RSV infections and flu activity are increasing as COVID hospitalizations appear to be increasing.
Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, told WSJ that this will likely be the “new normal.”
Latest figures from the CDC show that RSV infections and flu activity are increasing as COVID hospitalizations appear to be taking
The pandemic interrupted the spread of seasonal influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), but all three are now circulating again
The CDC developed two hypothetical seasonal scenarios that illustrate how COVID would increase hospital demand during a mild season and potentially lead to further strain.
This will far exceed a severe flu and RSV season before the global spread of COVID.
The CDC added that while it cannot predict the exact timing and impact of these three pathogens each season, these are two plausible scenarios for this year.
In the first scenario, the CDC combined a The peak for influenza and RSV was last season with a moderate wave of COVID-19, but the peak of the three viruses for this year is staggering.
This scenario shows that the peak value is higher than the value of a previous severe influenza and RSV season combined.
In the other scenario, they had another peak of flu and RSV combined with a moderate wave of COVID-19 last season, but instead of spreading the spikes out, they all happened at once.
In this case, the number of hospitalizations was similar to COVID hospitalizations in the 2022-2023 season when the virus was rampant.
The CDC developed two hypothetical seasonal scenarios that illustrate how COVID would increase demand in hospitals during a mild season
The CDC said high vaccination rates can significantly reduce hospitalizations.
Despite its own predictions, the CDC said it is difficult to predict the extent and timing of peak activity for each disease, as well as how the timing may overlap.
RSV is increasingly recognized as a cause of severe respiratory disease in older adults.
An estimated 60,000 to 160,000 RSV-related hospitalizations and 6,000 to 10,000 RSV-related deaths occur annually in adults 65 years of age and older.
Dr. Bill Messer, an Oregon infectious disease expert, previously warned of rising cases
Although COVID no longer kills as many people as it once did, it is still the deadliest of the three – mainly because it occurs year-round and is not seasonal.
“It creates a social burden when the emergency room is full of people coughing and sneezing,” Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire, an immunologist and infectious disease expert at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, told WSJ.
“Adding another virus to this pool could make things worse.”
“There’s another virus you can get. Your risk of getting sick is probably increased,” added Justin Lessler, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina.
Covid cases increased in eight states last week, according to CDC data.
And analyzes of the wastewater indicate that infections are increasing nationwide.
Meanwhile, COVID hospitalizations reached 16,000 the week of Nov. 11, up from nearly 15,000 the week before.
While that’s well below the 24,000 recorded at the same time last year, CDC data also shows that flu cases are increasing nationwide and in seven states.
Vaccines for all three respiratory diseases are available for people six months and older, but uptake is not as high as experts had hoped
The common virus can be deadly for people with chronic illnesses, killing up to 52,000 Americans each year.
The latest warning about flu season comes after Dr. Bill Messer, a molecular biologist in Oregon, warned that a “sort of triple threat” was looming.
He urged people to wear face masks in crowded places and not to touch their nose and mouth.
Messer also encouraged all Americans to get vaccinated against all three viruses.
Vaccines for all three respiratory diseases are available for people six months and older, but uptake has not been as high as experts had hoped.
Current data shows that about 65 percent of adults have not had a flu shot, while the figure for children is about 70 percent.
It is estimated that about 20 percent of American adults also signed up for the updated COVID vaccine that became available in September.
Only 14 percent of Americans over 60 have received an RSV vaccine.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
