PHOENIX — It’s the time many of us gather with loved ones to celebrate the season and enjoy all the special things that come with it.
But when it comes to our health, it’s also a time to remain cautious, as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns of a respiratory triple threat.
We’re just a few days into winter, and the CDC is warning this season isn't all joyful.
Right now, the U.S. is seeing a sharp increase in flu levels, particularly in the south. COVID-19 cases also appear to be climbing nationally, while cases of RSV seem to have reached their highest point this season.
“This is when we see a lot of respiratory viruses start showing up, leading to innocent kids and some of those kids need to be admitted to the hospital,” said Dr. Wassim Ballan, the division chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Ballan is echoing the CDC director.
“This season, we’re seeing the exact same story,” he said. “This is the season when we see those winter respiratory viruses, so RSV, influenza and over the last couple years, obviously COVID-19 was added to that list of viruses and that’s exactly what we’re seeing this year.”
Dr. Ballan said there was an A-typical season with high numbers of all three viruses last year. This year the numbers aren’t as bad, but they are still staying busy with cases tied to all three viruses.
Additionally, there are concerns surrounding a new strain of the coronavirus this season.
“The JN.1 which is still part of the Omicron family, and we still don’t know how this is going to behave in the U.S. at this point,” said Dr. Ballan.
According to the CDC, JN.1 cases more than doubled from late November to mid-December, likely from a combination of decreasing immunity and holiday travel, but there's no evidence it's any more severe than previous strains.
At Phoenix Children’s, they are actively monitoring the rising rates of RSV and the flu.
“We track those week by week,” he said. “The latest data that we have is, we have a 22% positivity, which is on the high side.”
As we experience colder temperatures, more people congregating indoors and that means the chances for transmission of the viruses between people go up.
Since there’s nothing worse than being sick over the holidays, Dr. Ballan said it’s important to do everything we can to stay healthy, including getting vaccinated.
Right now, vaccines are approved for COVID-19 and influenza.
“Those vaccines are approved for patients who are 6 months and older,” he said.
Dr. Ballan said it’s important to make a health plan ahead of time and work to minimize the spread of respiratory illnesses during holiday gatherings.
“If someone is sick, they stay away from aggregating with family and friends to prevent that transmission,” he added.
“Throat itch or runny nose or any kind of cold symptom,” said Dr. Ballan.
Looking ahead, while this year’s COVID cases don’t appear to be as high as they were over the past couple of winters, which is encouraging, but the reality is that it’s still there.
“It’s still a significant pathogen,” he said. “It’s still leading to a lot of hospitalization and unfortunately deaths.”
Dr. Ballan said we must remain vigilant at keeping our guard up, especially as we gather with family and friends throughout the season.
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