It’s still early, but a number of factors are pointing to a bad season for viruses
for RSV from early September. RSV affects children and the elderly most severely. “This virus is hitting extremely hard this year,” says Dr. Juanita Mora, spokesperson for the American Lung Association and an allergist and immunologist at the Chicago Allergy Center. One reason why cases are climbing so quickly , and so early in the season, could be because COVID-19 restrictions that closed schools and kept kids at home protected many of them from getting any infections over the past two years.
While a vaccine to protect kids from RSV exists, it’s only approved for kids at highest risk of developing severe disease, such as premature babies and those born with lung or heart disease. The vaccine requires monthly injections throughout the infection season, and most kids aren’t eligible to get vaccinated.
With flu and RSV cases rising so fast, hospitals in some parts of the country are already feeling strained. But the situation could get worse as, some of which are evading vaccination protections, continue to proliferate this winter. What’s contributing to the rapid and historic rise in respiratory diseases? It’s likely a combination of factors, including the mild seasons during the earlier part of the pandemic as well as sluggish vaccination rates against flu. Although it’s still relatively early in flu season, flu vaccine uptake is running nearly 9% behind where it normally is by now during pre-pandemic years.
Experts say that while these signs are concerning, the U.S. isn’t necessarily doomed to suffer a viral season as severe as countries like Australia. If more people get their flu and COVID-19 shots, that could dampen the effects of the viruses circulating more heavily than usual.