- Covid, flu and RSV rates creep up as vaccination rates for all three remain low, worrying healthcare providers.
- RSV hospitalizations are almost double their peak in 2019 and still rising, though the rate so far is lower than last year’s surge.
Cases of and hospitalizations for respiratory viruses, including Covid, the flu and RSV, continue rising across the US, and some health systems have begun returning to mask and limited-visitation policies as health officials warn that hospital capacity may become strained, reports the Guardian.
Vaccination rates for all three illnesses remain low, despite the efficacy of updated flu and Covid boosters and the entrance of new RSV vaccines for older and pregnant people.
Increased healthcare capacity strain
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged providers to administer more vaccines in light of the possibility of “more severe disease and increased healthcare capacity strain” from respiratory illness, especially in the wake of holiday gatherings.
About 44% of adults have received flu shots this season, but less than half of that number – about 17% – of Americans eligible for the updated Covid shots have received them, with only one in three nursing home residents being up-to-date.
The updated Covid boosters protect well against currently circulating variants, according to early research.
Only 17% of adults 60 and up have received the new RSV vaccines, and Beyfortus, the new, highly effective treatment to prevent RSV among infants, has been very difficult to access.
“It’s really sad,” said Anita Patel, a critical care specialist at Children’s national hospital and an associate professor of pediatrics at the George Washington University school of medicine. “There was a dramatically reduced supply of Beyfortus, and a lot of people that needed it and wanted it couldn’t get it.”
RSV hospitalizations are double their peak in 2019
RSV hospitalizations are almost double their peak in 2019 and still rising, though the rate so far is lower than last year’s surge.
“We are seeing quite a dramatic increase in flu,” said Patel. Doctor’s visits for flu-like illness, which can include the flu, Covid and other illnesses, are almost at the peak of the 2019-20 season. The CDC estimates flu has been responsible for 110,000 hospitalizations and 6,500 deaths thus far this season, with hospitalizations hitting the oldest and youngest Americans hardest.
Hospital admissions for Covid are up 20.4% from the previous week, and Covid deaths are up 12.5% in the same time period, with more than 1,600 people dying from Covid in the week ending 9 December, according to the last full data set from the CDC.
Did you subscribe to our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: The Guardian
