Category: Influenza
Tripledemic Update: RSV, Covid And Flu
(Forbes) The United States has already plunged into one of the roughest seasons of winter illnesses in decades. After nearly three years of being sequestered, children and adults are back out in crowds, with no masks, no distancing, and viruses waiting with open arms. Well, open RNA strands, at least. We’ve rounded the bend on […]
Dec 16, 2022
The childhood diseases making a post-lockdown comeback
(BBC) RSV, Strep A, the flu: a range of familiar bugs are worrying doctors and parents with strange new patterns. What’s behind the outbreaks? As child after child gasping for air was admitted to the hospital, Rabia Agha gritted her teeth. In her role as director of the paediatric infectious diseases division at Maimonides Children’s […]
Dec 12, 2022
Authorities are urging indoor masking in major cities as the ‘tripledemic’ rages
(NPR) Public health officials are revisiting the topic of indoor masking, as three highly contagious respiratory viruses take hold during the holiday season. Over the past few weeks, a surge in cases of COVID, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus — known as RSV — has been sickening millions of Americans, overwhelming emergency rooms and […]
Dec 12, 2022
How to Help Prevent Flu and RSV? You Might Not Like the Answer.
(WSJ) As respiratory viruses surge across the country, a number of public-health officials and doctors are encouraging masking to protect against flu and RSV, in addition to Covid-19. Whether masks are enough—and whether people are willing to wear them after the country has largely moved on from pandemic precautions—is another matter.
Dec 9, 2022
Flu vaccine appears to be a very good match to circulating strains, CDC says
(KSL Utah) This year’s flu shot appears to be “a very good match” to the circulating strains, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a news briefing Monday. However, she noted that flu vaccinations are lagging behind the pace of previous years. Through the end of October, CDC data shows that […]
Dec 9, 2022
CDC Sounds the Alarm on Rising Flu Hospitalizations
(MedPageToday)Influenza hospitalizations this early in the season are higher than they have been in a decade, according to the CDC, with 14 pediatric deaths reported so far. “Since October 1, there have already been at least 8.7 million illnesses, 78,000 hospitalizations, and 4,500 deaths from flu,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, on a […]
Dec 6, 2022
US flu activity soars; hospital cases nearly double
(CIDRAP) The early brisk flu season in the United States intensified last week, with hospitalizations almost doubling and most states in the red and purple high or very high zones, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest update. The United States and many countries in Europe are grappling with rising flu […]
Dec 5, 2022
Flu Hospitalizations Nearly Double Over the Last Week in the US
(Bloomberg) Influenza hospitalizations nearly doubled over the last week, adding to the already torrid season for respiratory illnesses in the US. There were 19,593 people hospitalized for influenza during the week ending Nov. 26, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Admission rates have reached the highest level in more than a decade, behind only […]
Dec 5, 2022
Flu continues to spread across the U.S., infecting millions, CDC reports
(NBC News) The floodgates have opened on the flu, with millions of people across the U.S. reporting the illness and nearly 3,000 deaths from influenza since the beginning of October, according to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With the start of the holiday season and large family gatherings, cases are […]
Nov 29, 2022
Is it Covid, flu or RSV? A few hallmarks can help distinguish among the illnesses
(NBC News) Covid, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are together driving a national wave of respiratory illnesses. Around 76% of U.S. hospital inpatient beds are full, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. Pediatric beds are at a similar level, though six states have 90% or more of their pediatric beds full, […]
Nov 28, 2022