Examining the increase in COVID-19, RSV and the seasonal flu this winter

BY AIDAN RUAN

Two years and two months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA passed authorization for the administration of a fourth COVID booster shot on Jan. 17, 2023. However, according to data from the CDC, only 15.7% of the U.S. population has taken the most recent bivalent booster shot whereas 69.2% of Americans have taken the first COVID-19 shots. As a result, the omicron variant BA.5, the target of the bivalent booster shot, became the dominant strain in the United States.

Not only are coronavirus infections on the rise, respiratory syncytial virus and flu infections are also occurring at higher rates than previous years. Many hospitals, in particular pediatric hospitals, have been completely filled under a new wave of COVID-19, RSV and flu patients.

According to Jessica Ridgway, an infectious diseases physician at hospitals to find spare beds during the winter season with the trifecta of infection.

“Some pediatric hospitals, including ours at [the] University of Chicago, have been completely full for multiple days this winter. That means that we didn’t have any extra beds to care for other sick children,” Ridgway said. “This was challenging because if a sick child came into the Emergency Room, and our hospital was completely full, we had to try to transfer them to another hospital in our region, many of which were also at 100% capacity.” viruses now.”