Emergency Room and EMT nurses tend to care for patients in the hallway at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital on August 18, 2021 in Houston, Texas.
Brandon Bells | beautiful pictures
Influenza cases are on the rise in the United States. That could put pressure on hospitals battled the rise of Covid.
The so-called “two diseases” – what public health experts call a combination of the flu and Covid – could accelerate during holiday gatherings this week.
“The most important problem we are facing is that our ability to provide healthcare is completely overwhelmed,” said Shira Shafir, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Shafir added: “As we spread Covid, plus the flu, plus all the other things that someone might need to go to the hospital… we have the potential to no longer have the capacity to care for all the people. that too.
Hospitalizations for the flu rose nearly 34 percent in the past week, averaging nearly 250 a day for the seven days through Thursday, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The average daily hospitalizations have never topped 125 during last year’s flu season.
The data shows that about 8,400 Covid patients were hospitalized each day in US hospitals over the past week, up 5% from a week ago but well below the delta wave peak of more than 12,000 hospitalizations. daily in the summer.
Last year, the United States had almost no flu season because public health procedures to slow the spread of the coronavirus also prevented the spread of flu, Shafir said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu cases hit an all-time low last season.
Flu season is back as US officials relax restrictions like wearing face masks and restricting gatherings with a Covid vaccine available this year.
That means Americans may have reduced immunity against the flu, CDC say early this fall.
Scientists design the flu vaccine each year to match which strains they predict will be most common. Less data than last year means this year’s hit has been a poor one, scientists said.
“We’re hoping that people will have less protection against the flu than they would with the common flu because we didn’t have a flu season last year,” Shafir said. “That makes people especially vulnerable to the flu this year.”
About 48% of US adults have been vaccinated against the flu, according to one CDC survey conducted from December 2 to December 13. Another 9.5% said they plan to take it.
The total projected vaccine coverage rate for the 2021-22 flu season is 57.2%, the agency said, up 3.4 percentage points from vaccination rates reported in the previous season.
“The relevant part is that vaccination rates against influenza for this time of year are significantly down from what is normally this time of year,” said Dr. Jim Conway, medical director of the immunization program. as we move into this holiday-focused phase.” at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Holiday get-togethers
According to Shafir, the holidays can exacerbate the spread of flu because people with symptoms who test negative for Covid can continue to congregate and spread the flu.
“Even if someone has a negative Covid test, they may still have something else that they can pass on to the people in their life,” said Shafir.
Epidemiologists recommend that people with symptoms such as cough, sore throat or runny nose stay at home. Wearing a mask, ventilating and congregating outdoors where possible are strategies that can help slow the spread, she said.
Health officials also recommend Covid vaccines and booster doses, as well as flu shots to help protect individuals. The rapidly spreading omicron variant of Covid has fueled the increase in cases, but research has shown it is not as severe as other variants. Studies have shown that vaccines and drugs enhance height protection.
