Patient Safety | 02.03.23
COVID, Flu, RSV Declining in Hospitals as 'Tripledemic' Threat Fades
by Washington Post
Surges of hospitalizations for COVID, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are receding in the United States as the "tripledemic" threat ebbs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that early waves of RSV and flu peaked before the new year, while the expected winter spike of COVID-19 is nowhere near swamping hospitals. CDC reports that COVID-19 patients are taking up 5 percent of hospital beds versus 21 percent a year ago. CDC official Barbara Mahon remarks, "Things don't look as bad as they did a few weeks or a few months ago, but we are still very much in the throes of winter.” Experts warn the U.S. could see additional flu increases, as the virus sometimes peaks twice, in addition to another RSV season in spring. Meanwhile, the highly transmissible XBB.1.5 COVID subvariant could spread elsewhere. Many hospitals are resigned to the coronavirus persisting, while comparisons to the first two pandemic winters' misery can conceal the ongoing toll on seniors and severely immunocompromised.
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