Cases and hospitalizations for respiratory viruses, such as Covid, the flu and RSV, continue to rise across the US, and some health systems have started reverting to mask and limited-visitation policies as health officials caution that hospital capacity may come under strain.
Vaccination rates for all three diseases remain low, despite the efficacy of updated flu and Covid boosters as well as the introduction of new RSV vaccines for older and pregnant people.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged providers to vaccinates more in view 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 fewer 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 offer effective protection against currently circulating variants, according to early research.
Only 17% of adults 60 and above have received the new RSV vaccines, and Beyfortus, the new, high effective treatment to stop RSV among infants, has been beyond accessible.
“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 is a dramatically reduced supply of Beyfortus, and a lot of people that needed it and wanted it couldn’t get it.”
RSV hospitalizations are almost double their peak in 2019 and still rising, however ,the ratio so far is fewer than last year’s surge.
“We are seeing quite a shocking rise 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 so far this season, with hospitalizations severely affecting the oldest and youngest Americans .
Hospitalisation 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 died due to Covid in the week ending December 9, according to the last full dataset from the CDC.
The detection of covid in the wastewater are the highest since January 2022, when Omicron emerged and the CDC began tracking the virus in wastewater, according to the agency’s data.
Data from Biobot, another wastewater tracking service, shows wastewater detections at their second-highest level since the pandemic began. Experts caution that comparing wastewater surges is difficult because variants have different shedding speeds and longevity, and tools to measure wastewater composition have become more sensitive over time.
Waves of illness like these can have enduring health effects. More than 5% of American adults are currently facing long Covid symptoms, and 14.3% have faced long Covid at some point,according to the CDC.
Two studies published this week found that BA.2.86, the parent of the currently circulating JN.1 variant, may infect the lungs more effectively than previous Omicron variants. That doesn’t necessarily mean people will fall sick or have a high risk of hospitalization or death, particularly since there is high population immunity than at the start of the Omicron wave – only real-world data can confirm that, researchers say.
So far, there is no evidence of increased severity, the CDC said in a statement.
The chance of high lung infectivity is “alarming”, said Shan-Lu Liu, a virologist and co-director of the viruses and emerging pathogens program at the Ohio State University and one of the new studies’ co-authors. But “we still do not have strong clinical data to support that kind of surge in regards of hospitalizations and deaths”, he said.
“From the public health perspective, we need to be cautious, and as scientists, we need to continue to study the properties of the virus,” Liu said. When the virus mutates, which chances are high , specifically with rising number of cases ,it could become more virulent or gain other concerning properties.
“People need to be vaccinated and get protection,” he said.
Hospitals in New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Massachusetts have instituted mask policies to stop the further spread of respiratory diseases.
Pediatric hospital bed capacity is now around 73%, a ratio similar to that during last winter’s “tripledemic”, and pediatric ICU beds are at 77% occupancy ,a ratio higher than that of the same for adults.
“Now, is your time to protect your kid, and we have the best measures in our hand to do so,” Patel said.
Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to stay safe, as is wearing masks in public indoor places, improving ventilation, hand washing and staying home when you’re sick. Americans have also choice to order four free Covid tests.
For many Americans, there have been challenges to accessing these precautions. “We continue to need free masks for low-income communities, free tests and free access to antiviral medications, most importantly Paxlovid, which is being underprescribed,” Julia Koehler, an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard medical school and a clinical pediatric infectious disease specialist, said .
“The pandemic is not over,” Koehler said, but added that public messages that the crisis has ended “has led many people to abandon protective measures they may have used last year”.
