Respiratory virus: flu and Covid-19 cases on the rise across the US as hospitals become packed after holiday gatherings

Hospitals across the US are packed as respiratory virus numbers have risen following holiday gatherings, data suggests. The week leading up to Christmas - ending on 23 December - saw more than 29,000 hospitalisations due to Covid-19, up nearly 17% from the week prior, according to Center for Disease Control data.

In the same week, almost 15,000 patients were admitted with the flu, which is a 16% increase from the week before, and even more have been admitted with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Covid-19 still plays a large part in admitting those to the hospital but the number of those hospitalised from the flu is on the rise. The CDC has estimated there have been around seven million cases of the flu this season, resulting in around 73,000 hospitalisations and 4,500 deaths as a result. 

In that same week, Covid-19 hospitalisations made up 3.3% of hospital bed occupancy across the country, while flu hospitalisations made up 1.3%. However, the CDC has also noted an increase in people seeking healthcare due to RSV.

“It’s a wave of winter respiratory pathogens, especially respiratory viruses. So it’s Covid, it’s flu, and we can’t diminish the importance of RSV,” Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN.

He added, “So it’s a triple threat, and arguably a fourth threat because we also have pneumococcal pneumonia, which complicates a lot of these virus infections.”

It's speculated that hospitalisations are on the rise as many have not gotten vaccinated this season - with the data showing 44% of those over 18 have received the flu vaccine, but only 19% of those over 18 received the latest Covid-19 shot, and a mere 17% over 60 have received the RSV vaccine.

“We have, as a population, underutilized both influenza and the updated Covid vaccines, unfortunately,” Dr William Schaffner, an expert in infectious disease at Vanderbilt University, told the outlet. “But it’s not too late to get vaccinated, because these viruses are going to be around for a while yet.”