Respiratory viruses are rebounding in the United States on the precipice of the end-of-year holidays, with emergency room visits for covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus collectively reaching their highest levels since February.
Among the three viruses, covid continues to be the biggest driver of hospitalizations, settling into a familiar rhythm of causing periodic waves without wreaking havoc on the health-care system as it once did. Hospitals reported more than 22,000 new covid admissions the week ending Dec. 2, the highest since the peak of the summer wave in September.
Compared with punishing pandemic winters and a triple-threat of viral waves returning last year, public health authorities are urging vigilance instead of alarm this holiday season. “Really, this is what we had anticipated would happen,” said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “We are not seeing or hearing any reports of hospitals running into capacity issues like we were last year, but we don’t feel we are out of the woods yet.” The toll of respiratory virus season is uneven across the country, cresting in some states and receding in others. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says levels of overall respiratory illness are high across most of the Sun Belt and in New York City and New Jersey, largely driven by flu and respiratory syncytial virus, widely known as RSV.
In Louisiana, designated by the CDC asone of two states experiencing very high respiratory illness, the primary driver is flu, which health officials say usually peaks this time of year. Covid is more unpredictable and is creeping up again just weeks after a fall surge waned.
“We can continue to expect periodic surges, and hopefully they continue to remain with relatively low clinical acuity,” said Joseph Kanter, Louisiana’s health officer. “Unless we get some variant that’s a real curveball, that seems to be the normal, and we are thankful for that.”