Further, health officials are facing a post-holiday rise in flu and other infections, so U.S. hospitals are limiting visitation and enforcing masks.
More U.S. hospitals are requiring masks and limiting visitors as health officials face an expected but still nasty post-holiday spike in flu, COVID-19 and other illnesses. While many experts say this season likely won’t prove to be as deadly as some other recent winters, it still could mean hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and many thousands of deaths across the country.
New York City last week instituted a mask mandate for the city’s 11 public hospitals. Similar measures were ordered last week at some hospitals in Los Angeles and Massachusetts. Some hospitals reinstated masking rules for employees months ago, in anticipation of a seasonal rush of sick people. Flu and COVID: 19 infections have been increasing for weeks, with high levels of flu-like illnesses reported in 31 states just before Christmas. Updated national numbers are to be released Friday, but health officials predict infections will grow in many states well into January.
Also read-Hold On: The U.S. Is Strengthened By The New COVID-19 Variant JN.1
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“What we’re seeing right now, in the first week of January, is really an acceleration—of flu cases, in particular,” said Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There’s some positive information. By the end of the month, flu and COVID-19 instances might peak before declining, according to Cohen. Despite the fact that the number of cases of the flu has been rising, this year’s instances are due to a strain that often doesn’t result in as many hospital stays or fatalities as some other strains. Additionally, indications point to the existing flu vaccines being well-matched to the strain. An expert in infectious illnesses at Vanderbilt University, Dr. William Schaffner, stated, “I don’t think it’s going to be overwhelming.” The present season, in his opinion, is “moderately severe.”
In order to help the public decide whether to wear masks or take other measures, the CDC is directing them to an official website where they may look up their county. Cohen advised patients to seek COVID-19 and flu therapy, as well as vaccinations. Officials report a decrease in vaccinations this year. Based on the most recent data available from the CDC vaccination survey, 44% of adult Americans had received a flu vaccination by December 23. As of early December, only approximately 19% of adult Americans have received an updated COVID-19 vaccination.
COVID-19 cases are causing a more severe disease than the flu but have been rising less dramatically. Health officials are keeping an eye on JN.1, a new version of the ever-evolving coronavirus. The omicron variant was first detected in the U.S. in September and just before Christmas, it accounted for an estimated 44% of COVID-19 cases. The JN.1 variant may spread easier or be better at evading our immune systems, but there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease than other recent variants, health officials say. Current evidence indicates vaccines and antiviral medications work against it.
The CDC has also reported disappointing vaccination rates against another seasonal bug, respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. That is a common cause of mild cold-like symptoms, but it can be dangerous for infants and older people. RSV cases rose in the fall but appear to have plateaued and are even going down in some places, according to the latest data. At Hillsdale Hospital in southern Michigan, a 65% increase in respiratory illness activity in late December triggered a limitation for visitors to the birthing center. Only a spouse, a support person and grandparents can visit. They all must wear a mask and not show symptoms of sickness.
The restriction is common for the hospital around this time of year, said Dr. Nichole Ellis, a pediatrician who is the hospital’s medical chief of staff. But it’s more difficult this season, she added. “In the past, we would have one disease that we were tracking or monitoring at one time,” Ellis said. “But now, babies and children will have multiple diseases at the same time. It’s not that they just have RSV… but they’re getting RSV and COVID at the same time, or influenza and RSV at the same time because all of the diseases are prevalent in our community.”
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