Increasing cases of influenza threaten hospital capacity as Covid surges on vacation

Influenza cases are increasing in the United States.It can put pressure on the hospital Already fighting the surge of Covid..

The so-called “eccentric” that public health experts call the combination of flu and covid can accelerate during this week’s holiday gatherings.

“The most serious problem we face is the complete overwhelming of our medical capabilities,” said Shira Shafir, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“When you have a Covid infection, the flu, and everything else that someone might need to go to the hospital … we potentially lose the ability to provide care to all those individuals. “Masu,” Shafir added.

Influenza hospitalizations have increased by about 34% over the past week, reaching a seven-day average of about 250 per day as of Thursday, according to US Department of Health and Human Services data. The average number of visitors to influenza last season did not exceed 125.

Approximately 8,400 Covid patients are admitted to US hospitals daily on average over the past week. Data show that the number of hospitalizations per day in the summer is below the peak level of the delta wave, which exceeds 12,000, although it has increased by 5% from a week ago.

Last year, there were few flu seasons in the United States, Shafir said, as public health protocols to delay the transmission of the coronavirus also prevented the spread of the flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, influenza cases reached a record low last season.

The flu season has revived as US authorities have relaxed restrictions such as wearing masks and limited meetings with the Covid vaccine available this year.

This means that Americans may have weakened their immunity to the flu, CDC. Said earlier this fall..

Every year, scientists design influenza vaccines to match which strains they expect to be the most common. The lack of last year’s data means that this year’s shots don’t match well. The scientists said.

“Since there was no flu season last year, we expect people to have less protection against the flu than in normal flu situations,” Shafir said. “It leaves people particularly vulnerable to the flu this year.”

According to the report, about 48% of adults in the United States are vaccinated against the flu. CDC survey It was held from December 2nd to December 13th. Another 9.5% said they plan to get it.

According to officials, the projected total vaccination rate for the 2021-22 influenza season is 57.2 percent, an increase of 3.4 percentage points from the reported vaccination rate last season.

Dr. Jim Conway, Medical Director of the Immune Program, said: At the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and School of Public Health.