The U.S. is facing the very best flu hospitalization rates in greater than a decade with children and the elderly most in danger, in keeping with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Flu and respiratory syncytial virus had receded throughout the Covid-19 pandemic because of mitigation measures reminiscent of masks and social distancing. But as people begin to return to their normal routines and socialize without masks, the viruses are staging a serious comeback.
At the least 1.6 million people have fallen ailing with the flu up to now this season, 13,000 people have been hospitalized, and 730 have died, in keeping with CDC data.
About about 3 patients are being hospitalized with the flu out of each 100,000 individuals with the virus straight away, which is the very best rate since 2010. The present hospitalization rate is almost five times what was observed throughout the last pre-pandemic season in 2019.
Seniors and youngsters younger than age 5 face the most important risk straight away, with hospitalization rates about double the overall population, in keeping with CDC data.
“There are also early signs of influenza causing severe illness in exactly these two groups of people,” Dr. Jose Romero, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters during a briefing Friday.
Within the Southeastern U.S., about 20% of respiratory samples are testing positive for a strain of flu called H3N2 that has been related to more severe illness in children and older people prior to now, Romero said. Within the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, H1N1 flu viruses are growing in circulation, he said.
Cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, are also increasing in almost every region of the U.S. straight away, Romero said. In a lot of the South and parts of the West, nevertheless, RSV is trending downward and the flu is now surging, he said.
RSV is a typical virus that almost all children catch before age two. It normally causes cold-like symptoms, but also can end in serious illness requiring hospitalization for infants and the elderly.
Romero said mitigation measures implemented during Covid left a big swath of the U.S. population uninfected with other common respiratory viruses, and as a consequence these viruses at the moment are surging because young children specifically don’t have immunity from prior infections.
The federal government is ready to send medical teams and supply supplies from the strategic national stockpile if hospitals are stretched beyond capability, in keeping with Dawn O’Connell, a senior official on the Health and Human Services Department. No state has requested such support up to now, O’Connell said.
Romero called on everyone who’s eligible to get their annual flu shot and Covid booster dose. Children younger than age 8 who’re receiving the flu vaccine for the primary time should receive two doses for the most effective protection, he said. There isn’t any vaccine that protects against RSV.
Romero also called for people to take on a regular basis, commonsense precautions reminiscent of covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and washing your hands regularly.
It’s often difficult to the tell the difference between flu, RSV and Covid symptoms. Romero said parents should seek medical attention for his or her children instantly in the event that they show any of the next warning signs: Trouble respiratory, blueish lips or face, chest or muscle pain, dehydration (dry mouth, crying without tears, or not urinating for hours), or not alert or interactive when awake.
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci also warned this week Covid deaths are still far too high. Fauci said the U.S. stands at a crossroads as omicron subvariants emerge which can be immune to key antibody treatments that protect probably the most vulnerable.
Fauci warned hospitals could face a “negative trifecta” this winter from emerging Covid variants, the flu, and RSV.
“It is going to be very confounding and might even stress the hospital system, particularly for the pediatric population,” Fauci said.
