- Respiratory viruses high this holiday season with RSV, flu, COVID hospitalizations all rising nationwide WLS-TV
- Yes, a Lot of People Are Getting Sick Right Now New York Magazine
- The CDC Warns of ‘Urgent Need’ for Vaccinations to Fight Respiratory Illnesses This Winter PEOPLE
- Health Alert Network (HAN) – 00503 | Urgent Need to Increase Immunization Coverage for Influenza, COVID-19, and RSV and Use of Authorized/Approved Therapeutics in the Setting of Increased Respiratory Disease Activity During the 2023 – 2024 Winter Se CDC Emergency Preparedness
- Respiratory virus activity is high or increasing in most parts of the US and it still hasn’t peaked CNN
Tag Archives: hospitalizations
‘We’re becoming overwhelmed’: Spike in patients seeking ER, Urgent Care strains resources amid RSV hospitalizations – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
- ‘We’re becoming overwhelmed’: Spike in patients seeking ER, Urgent Care strains resources amid RSV hospitalizations NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
- Cook Children’s is full amid wave of RSV infections The Dallas Morning News
- Emergency rooms seeing uptick in infant, young children RSV cases Atlanta News First
- ‘We are becoming overwhelmed’: North Texas hospitals see sharp increase in RSV cases WFAA.com
- Cook Children’s ER in Fort Worth seeing 500 patients a day as RSV, flu cases surge Fort Worth Star-Telegram
- View Full Coverage on Google News
COVID hospitalizations have risen for 2 months straight as new booster shots expected this week – ABC News
- COVID hospitalizations have risen for 2 months straight as new booster shots expected this week ABC News
- Why Florida is seeing the highest proportion of counties with ‘moderate’ COVID hospitalization rates Yahoo! Voices
- COVID-19 continues to rise with fall respiratory season around the corner, North Texas hospitals report The Dallas Morning News
- CDC Data: New Weekly COVID-19 Hospitalizations Climb 9% | Health News | U.S. News U.S. News & World Report
- New COVID data suggests San Antonio’s late-summer surge is changing course KENS5.com
- View Full Coverage on Google News
As fungal meningitis hospitalizations increase, Valley health officials says not enough people are being tested for it – KRGV
- As fungal meningitis hospitalizations increase, Valley health officials says not enough people are being tested for it KRGV
- Doctors warn of deadly fungal infections linked to clinics in Mexico | KVUE KVUE
- Health officials implore people who had cosmetic surgery in Mexico to get tested for deadly meningitis WOODTV.com
- ‘It’s not worth it’ | Deadly meningitis cases among Texans undergoing plastic surgery in Mexico KVUE.com
- Third person dies from fungal brain bug linked to cosmetic ops in Mexico – as hundreds at risk… The Irish Sun
- View Full Coverage on Google News
New COVID Variant Sends NYC Case Rates Soaring; Hospitalizations High – NBC New York
What to Know
- You’ve probably heard about the XBB.1.5 variant; it’s the latest “most transmissible COVID variant yet” and appears to be better at binding to human cells, which may make it more adept at infecting
- There’s no evidence at this point that the strain, a combination of two prior omicron subvariants, is more lethal or more likely to cause COVID complications, but as a top White House official said last week, if you haven’t been vaccinated or infected lately, your protection probably isn’t so good
- Nowhere is XBB.1.5 more prevalent than in the northeastern United States, according to the CDC — and rolling hospitalization and death rates, along with cases, are climbing accordingly
COVID-19 hospitalizations in New York and New Jersey have soared to 11-month highs as the most transmissible variant yet, a combination of two prior omicron strains, fuels yet another infection wave nearly three full years into the pandemic, the latest federal health data show.
Deaths are also climbing, with weekly fatality reports for both states currently at their highest levels since early last year, according to the CDC. In New York City, the rolling COVID fatality average is the highest it’s been since February 2022, while rolling hospitalizations are at a height not seen since the downswing of the initial omicron wave.
CDC COVID guidelines say face masks should be worn across the board in New York City, Long Island and much of the Hudson Valley, given the high spread rate. And the entire state of New Jersey is at the agency’s highest risk level, its latest data shows. While elected officials and their health departments have advised people to follow those guidelines, especially if they’re more vulnerable in terms of age or underlying conditions, no new mandates have been issued.
CDC COVID community levels in NY
CDC COVID community levels in NJ
And no new mandates are expected, either, at this point in the pandemic.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, both of them Democrats, are each set to deliver their State of the State addresses on Tuesday. It remains to be seen whether the ongoing COVID response will once again play a feature role in those speeches. Given these charts, the odds are fairly likely.
NEW YORK STATE COVID TRENDS (via CDC)
HOSPITALIZATIONS
CDC
CASES AND DEATHS
CDC COVID cases and deaths in New York via CDC
Last week, New York state’s Department of Health announced the XBB.1.5 variant is far and away the most dominant strain locally, accounting for more than 50% of statewide infections. That share is likely considerably higher, given the relatively low proportion of positive tests that undergo the exhaustive genetic sequencing process to isolate variants.
The same can be said for New Jersey, where the 38.4% share of sequences cases tied to XBB.1.5 reflects data not updated since mid-December. In New York City, where data also lags, XBB.1.5’s prevalence is likely well above the 68% share that the health department last updated on Christmas Eve.
NEW JERSEY COVID TRENDS
CDC New Jersey COVID hospitalization trends
CDC New Jersey COVID case and death trends
The latest CDC data suggests that XBB.1.5 is spreading in the northeastern United States at a much higher rate than the rest of the country, accounting for up to 81% of cases in the region comprising New York and New Jersey compared with a 43% high estimate for the nation.
While there is “not yet clear evidence,” according to New York state, that XBB.1.5 significantly affects COVID’s virulence or disease severity, early data does indicate it is more infectious than other circulating variants. The fact it has emerged at a time when both COVID and flu cases remain high is further cause for heightened caution, it says.
New York City positivity rates are bearing out the transmissibility concerns, with more than a third of neighborhoods across the five boroughs seeing those numbers in excess of 20% — and some spots topping 30% positivity.
NYC COVID VARIANT AND HOSPITALIZATION DATA
NYC This chart represents COVID variants in NYC. The top line is XBB.1.5.
NYC Health Department NYC COVID hospitalization trends
Omicron is still classified as a variant of concern according to the CDC and the World Health Organization. That strain, which first emerged in South Africa in November 2021, though likely was there earlier, is the only variant of concern currently in circulation, according to WHO.
To be a variant of concern, WHO says a strain must be associated with one or more of the following changes at a degree of global significance:
- Increase in transmissibility or detrimental change in COVID-19 epidemiology; OR
- Increase in virulence or change in clinical disease presentation; OR
- Decrease in effectiveness of public health and social measures or available diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics
The CDC said the new COVID-19 variant is responsible for 75% of new cases.
Given their level of infectiousness and ongoing mutation, WHO advises each omicron descendant be monitored distinctly. That’s what officials in New York and New Jersey continue to do as they plead with the public to double down on the mitigation factors that have proven to work since the onset of the pandemic, from hand-washing and staying home when sick to vaccination, masking up in crowded areas and getting tested regularly.
Hochul continues to urge New Yorkers — and so does the White House — to get their updated bivalent booster shots if they haven’t already (see vaccine data). The head of the White House Task Force on COVID recently underscored the point, saying if you haven’t been infected lately or had that booster, you’re likely not protected from XBB.1.5.
Overall, experts say that healthy, vaccinated people still are at much lower risk for COVID complications than immunocompromised or un- and undervaccinated people.
As Hochul said in her latest COVID update, “I urge everyone to remain vigilant and continue to use all available tools to keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe and healthy. Stay up to date on vaccine doses, and test before gatherings or travel. If you test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment options.”
Orange County moves to ‘high’ level of COVID-19 transmission as cases, hospitalizations increase
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) — Orange County has climbed back into the “high” level of COVID-19 transmission amid an increase in cases and hospitalizations.
Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the county’s chief health officer, says the jump to a higher level of community spread was expected because more people are socializing and gathering for the holidays.
She suggests taking a COVID test before heading to a family event or party.
“Consider testing before you go to a holiday gathering because you actually may have COVID, and if you do then you’re going to have to stay home,” Chinsio-Kwong said.
She says if you think you’ve been exposed to the virus, you should test yourself more than once before celebrating the holidays.
COVID cases are expected to rise through the first week of January.
Orange County Health Care Agency officials also encouraged residents to get up to date on vaccinations for flu and COVID-19. Officials especially encouraged vaccinated residents to get the new bivalent booster, which is designed to combat the omicron variant.
Health officials also advise the public to wash hands often and wear a mask in crowded spaces to stay safe.
Chinsio-Kwong says other illnesses are also putting a strain on resources.
“Hospitals are still being impacted by flu and RSV,” Chinsio-Kwong said. “Although we are seeing a decline in the RSV rates, the kids who are still getting into the hospital and even some of the adults who are going into the hospital are still having severe symptoms.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2022 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
Tracking flu, Covid-19 and RSV hospitalizations in the US
CNN
—
A tough respiratory virus season is underway in the United States, as influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus came early and hit hard this year, straining the nation’s health care system and driving up hospitalizations to rates not seen in years — even as Covid-19 continues spreading across the country.
While this historic season progresses, CNN will be tracking the impact as updated illness figures are released.
Influenza hospitalizations surged this fall: The cumulative hospitalization rate per 100,000 residents, compiled by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has eclipsed at least five of the past 12 seasons.
While the seven-day rolling average of hospitalization cases derived from US Health and Human Services’ data has come down in recent weeks, experts warn a resurgence is possible as people travel and gather for the holidays.
While Covid levels remain far below prior surges, trends are definitely on the rise across the US, according to data the US Department of Health and Human Services. After a relatively quiet summer, hospitalizations have been on the rise again since early November.
More than 100 million cases have been reported in the United States since the start of the pandemic. However, the actual number of cases is likely much higher, as many individuals who are infected do not test or do not report the results of tests taken at home. As cases are undercounted, hospitalization has become a better indicator of disease trends.
RSV has hit particularly hard and early this season, with a hospitalization rate greater than the previous four seasons already.
Young children are especially vulnerable to RSV, and the virus has a particularly strong impact on children this season. Hospitalization rates for those younger than 5 are more than twice as high as any season since 2018-2019 — when the CDC began tracking data specific to kids.
The flu and other respiratory illnesses often have overlapping symptoms, such as congestion and coughing. But some are unique. RSV, for example, can cause wheezing or decreased appetite while Covid can cause shortness of breath. Testing can help determine which illness is at play, which health experts say is helpful to ensure individuals are receiving the appropriate treatment in a timely manner. For example, the antiviral Tamiflu can help treat flu, while Paxlovid is available for Covid patients.
COVID-related hospitalizations increasing among US seniors
The U.S. is seeing a rise in COVID-19-related hospitalizations, and the older population accounts for a growing percentage of U.S. deaths.
Hospitalizations for people infected with COVID-19 increased by more than 30% in two weeks, with much of that spike hitting older people and those with existing health problems, according to Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky.
The CDC data includes all hospitalizations of people who test positive for the coronavirus, regardless of the reason they were admitted.
Nursing home leaders are boosting efforts to have staff and residents boosted with the new version of the vaccine, which is now recommended by the federal government for people 6 months and older. These nursing homes now face complacency and COVID-19 fatigue.
TEEN DENIED KIDNEY TRANSPLANT BECAUSE SHE’S NOT VACCINATED FOR COVID, SAY PARENTS
The U.S. is seeing a rise in COVID-19-related hospitalizations, and the older population accounts for a growing percentage of U.S. deaths.
(iStock)
Easing coronavirus restrictions, broader immunity in the general population and mixed messages about whether the pandemic is over have lessened younger adults’ concerns about the virus. Nursing homes, however, are still dealing with the impact of COVID-19.
The nursing home leaders said it has become increasingly difficult to receive family consent for vaccinating nursing home residents. Some residents who can give their own consent are refusing the shots, while only 23% of nursing home staff are fully boosted.
Staff and visitors are potential ways in which the virus can enter nursing homes. Many facilities try to protect their residents with masks, screening questions, temperature checks and enhanced infection control.
Hospitals across the country are seeing a rise in senior COVID patients. The rate of daily U.S. hospital admissions for people ages 70 and older with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 jumped from 8.8 per 100,000 people on November 15 to 12.1 per 100,000 people on December 6, according to statistics from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Hospitalizations for people infected with COVID-19 increased by more than 30% in two weeks, with much of that spike hitting older people and those with existing health problems, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said.
(Reuters/File Photo)
NEW YORK CITY ‘STRONGLY’ URGES MASKS AMID ‘HIGH LEVELS’ OF COVID, FLU, RSV
According to Scripps Research Translational Institute head Eric Topol, hospitalizations for seniors with COVID-19 in New York and California have already surpassed those during spring and summer omicron waves.
And in addition to an increase in hospitalizations, COVID deaths are also rising among seniors.
Nursing home leaders said it has become increasingly difficult to receive family consent for vaccinating nursing home residents. Some residents who can give their own consent are refusing the shots.
(AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
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Last spring and summer, death rates dipped overall as more people gained protection from vaccination and previous infection. However, the share of COVID-19–related deaths for adults 85 and older, who make up 2% of the population, jumped to 40%.
Throughout the pandemic, one in five COVID-19 deaths were people in a long-term care facility.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
RSV hospitalizations jump 31% in a week, stoking ‘tripledemic’ fear
A trio of viruses is on the rise, causing some experts to warn of a “tripledemic” of COVID-19, flu and the far lesser known RSV.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus is an upper respiratory virus, and cases in Europe, America and Israel are growing fast. The Health Ministry reported on Thursday that in the last week, the number of patients hospitalized with RSV jumped 31 percent. Since the beginning of October, 696 people have been hospitalized with RSV, including 229 in the past week.
Most children catch RSV in their first two or three years, but parents normally don’t give it a name and just say their children are “feeling unwell” or “have a virus.”
As with COVID, the concern is when it hits the vulnerable. For young babies, the elderly, and those with health complications, it can cause more severe illness such as infection of the lungs, bronchiolitis, an inflammation of the small airways in the lung, and pneumonia. RSV causes more cases of bronchiolitis and pneumonia before age 1 than any other pathogen.
Normally, morbidity is spread out, and hospitals can easily handle the flow of serious cases that filters through. But there is currently a sudden rise, and it is coming during a winter when hospitals are also dealing with two other major respiratory diseases — COVID-19 and flu.
“Israel is now experiencing what we’ve already seen in North America and some other places, with the rise in RSV,” the leading pediatrician Prof. Moshe Ashkenazi, deputy director of the children’s hospital at Sheba Medical Center, told The Times of Israel. “It’s spreading more violently than in previous years.
“People shouldn’t panic, but they should be aware that it’s a virus that is dangerous to young babies, especially preterm babies, and to children with heart and lung diseases.”
RSV – a 3D rendering of the virus (CIPhotos via iStock by Getty Images)
What makes RSV the odd one out alongside flu and COVID-19 is vaccine availability. The latter two viruses have easily accessible vaccines that are cheap for health providers to source. “There is a vaccine for RSV, but it is only given to the most at-risk as it’s a special antibody injection given in five shots and costs $20,000 to $30,000 per person, per season.”
It’s not known for sure why RSV is spiking now, after declining at the height of the COVID pandemic. But there is a strong belief among medical experts that masking and social distancing meant people were exposed to fewer viruses than normal and therefore now have reduced immunity.
“There’s a theory that for a long time we were masked and we weren’t exposed to regular viruses as we normally would have been, and therefore immunity levels against general viruses are low,” Ashkenazi said. “Now that masks are worn less, RSV is spreading more.”
Science supports the theory that masks may have been keeping RSV at bay. Like COVID, it spreads largely via droplets from an infected person — normally their coughs or sneezes — entering the airways of somebody else.
Dr. Moshe Ashkenazi, deputy director of the children’s hospital at Sheba Medical Center (courtesy of Sheba Medical Center)
The World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control just highlighted the threat of RSV alongside COVID and flu. “RSV has been on the rise since October, with some 20 countries and areas experiencing intensified RSV activity,” they said in a joint statement.
“COVID-19 case rates, hospital and intensive care unit admissions, and death rates are currently low compared to the past 12 months, but this situation could change as new variants emerge, and the disease continues to strain health care resources,” the statement said.
“With the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the circulation and health impact of other respiratory pathogens, it is challenging to predict how the new winter period will develop.”
Ashkenazi said that RSV normally starts with a cough and a runny nose, sometimes alongside sneezing, fever and/or an impact on appetite.
“On a practical level, if people have anything more severe than a runny nose, they should stay home or protect their surroundings by wearing a mask,” he said.
By the time symptoms show, people may have been contagious for a day or two. They normally remain contagious for three to eight days — in some cases longer.
Ashkenazi said that when symptoms are mild, people who aren’t at elevated risk don’t normally need to seek medical advice. However, if there is a “red flag,” they should take a home coronavirus test to eliminate COVID-19, and go to the doctor if it is negative.
“Red flags include shortness of breath, inability to sleep because of a cough, coughing with a large amount of phlegm, or a change in mental state,” he said. “The best thing we can do is to vaccinate against the viruses for which we do have shots — flu and COVID — so that we reduce cases of respiratory illnesses wherever possible.”
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US hospitalizations rise as respiratory viruses continue to spread: report
U.S. health officials warned Monday that nearly every state in the country is battling high levels of flu-like illness, as multiple respiratory viruses continue to circulate amid the holiday season.
According to The Washington Post, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a Monday telebriefing that they have been seeing signs of an early and severe flu season – with thousands of fatalities reported – as cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) remain high and COVID-19 infections continue.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky reportedly said that levels of medical visits with respiratory symptoms were high or very high in 47 jurisdictions around Thanksgiving, with the number of admitted flu patients nearly doubled from the previous week.
Experts said it was likely that there was more spread of respiratory viruses during holiday gatherings and at crowded airports.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky gives her opening statement during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on “Next Steps: The Road Ahead for the COVID-19 Response” on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 4, 2021.
(Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)
US PLANS END TO MONKEYPOX PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY IN JANUARY
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also rising, while the CDC noted that some RSV cases appear to have peaked in the South and Southeast.
“While this is encouraging, respiratory viruses continue to spread at high levels nationwide, and even in areas where RSV may be decreasing, our hospital systems continue to be stretched with high numbers of patients with other respiratory illnesses,” Walensky added.
On Friday, the CDC said 7.5% of outpatient medical visits last week were due to flu-like illness and that 44 states had reported high or very high flu activity.
A flu vaccine is readied at the L.A. Care and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plans’ Community Resource Center where they were offering members and the public free flu and COVID-19 vaccines Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Lynwood, Calif.
((AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill))
At Indiana’s largest health system, hospitals have begun visitor restrictions.
CALIFORNIA MOM SPEAKS OUT AFTER LOSING INFANT SON TO RSV COMPLICATIONS
“Flu is hitting Marion County hard right now and much earlier than it has in recent years,” Dr. Virginia Caine, director of the Marion County Public Health Department, said Monday.
On the West Coast, Washington state health authorities said flu activity was very high there at the beginning of the month.
An electron micrograph reveals the morphologic traits of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
((Photo By BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images))
“These respiratory illnesses are coming back and they have come back full force,” Jason Montemayor, medical director for the northwest region at Providence, said.
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Meanwhile, in New Mexico, health leaders – who said hospitals and emergency rooms are running above their licensed capacity – mandated that hospitals revert to a “hub-and-spoke” model to ensure patients get the care they need amid the rise in pediatric cases of RSV.
The New Mexico Department of Health announced the public health emergency order on Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.