‘Triple demic’ data shows cold and flu season is already at its worst on record

After two difficult winters with COVID-19, the current respiratory illness season is comparable to the worst cold and flu season on record, starting about two months earlier.

RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, made so many viruses infant illness This fall saw the highest number of weekly pediatric hospital admissions for RSV ever recorded. Influenza, which usually peaks in February, has pushed hospitalization rates this time of year to the highest levels in more than a decade, surpassing hospitalization rates due to Covid-19. Covid illness is lower than in the last two Decembers, but is on the rise.

For weeks, public health officials “Triple Demic” Covid-19, flu and RSV will strain an already exhausted healthcare system. Hospitalizations for the three viruses are increasing together. Nationwide, respiratory syncytial virus appears to have peaked, and influenza has peaked in several parts of the country, but infections with the two viruses are expected to plateau at high levels.

Experts say the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted predictable patterns for other respiratory illnesses, making it difficult to estimate severity for the rest of the season.

“There’s still plenty of winter left,” said Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. “Certainly, there’s plenty of time for the next coronavirus wave, and even enough chances that another version of the flu will emerge.”

The country has already faced two record-breaking seasons under Covid, with older Americans disproportionately affected, but this year’s resurgence of RSV and influenza has increased the burden of the disease. It means some moved to the youngest of the country and their families.

The number of weekly hospitalizations for childhood respiratory syncytial virus is the highest since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began tracking it in the 2018-19 season. Preliminary estimates put her at about 1 in 70 babies under 6 months old since the beginning of October.

With flu surge and Covid-19 epidemic, respiratory disease Overwhelmed pediatric unit Across the country, we are shifting the burden to emergency rooms and children’s hospitals.

said Daniel Rauch, M.D., director of children’s hospital medicine at Tufts Medical Center.

“We are very scared of winter,” he added. “I don’t know if our staff can keep it up.”

RSV cases and hospitalizations appear to have peaked, especially in the south, where the disease first hit, but some experts predict they will plateau and remain high for some time. doing.

Hospitalizations for RSV in the elderly are also much higher than those recorded at this time in past seasons.

Older people in the United States remain vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19 and influenza, and early relapses and dramatic increases in influenza have made public health officials concerned about this age group.

“Covid is not gone,” said CDC infectious disease expert Dr. Fiona Havers. says.

Hospitalizations for influenza among older people are expected to increase in the coming weeks as families travel for vacation and gather indoors. influenza According to the CDC, the virus known as H3 also tends to increase flu hospitalization rates among older people.

The agency estimates that there have been at least 150,000 hospitalizations and 9,300 deaths from the flu alone so far this season. of 199 childhood flu deaths estimated at

Experts say available vaccines for influenza and Covid-19 are good for the strains that are circulating. For those who have already had the flu, vaccination can protect against another strain to which they have not been exposed.

However, vaccination coverage is low nationwide.However 36 percent of people over 65 We got updated Covid-19 boosters this fall, but the rates are lower across all younger age groups. About 15% of adults over the age of 65 and about 46% of children are vaccinated against influenza.