NEW YORK – Can we have a free winter?
Health officials and doctors in New York are urging people to take additional precautions against the virus for the third consecutive year, warning that the triple threat of COVID-19, flu season and early onset of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) could lead to higher rates of disease among some groups. These days the focus seems to be largely on children.
And with good reason.
Hospitals are already seeing spikes in related children’s hospitalizations breathing problems, And the trends are also evident in New York City, says Dr. Jay Varma, one of former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s top pandemic advisors.
Data shows that emergency room visits for children under 5 with suspected acute respiratory infections, whether COVID, RSV, or others, are at their highest level in nearly a year.
“The last time it got this bad was in the middle of Omicron’s first wave (actually Christmas Day 2021),” Varma tweeted.
Nearly 35,500 children under the age of 5 visited the New York emergency room this month for respiratory problems, the second most affected age group after people between the ages of 18 and 64. The Bronx and Brooklyn account for most of the visits.
The numbers exclude children with flu-like illnesses and those who are later diagnosed with the flu, meaning severe respiratory cases are likely to be higher. However, they group pneumonia into a COVID-like disease.
The national picture reflects similar concerns. The CDC hospitalization data on that front also groups respiratory problems into COVID-like illnesses, ruling out the flu as the New York City data does. According to the federal health agency, 74% of children’s hospital beds were occupied as of Tuesday, with Rhode Island (99%) and Minnesota (95%) reporting the highest utilization. Connecticut (78%) and New York (75%) fall in the middle, with New Jersey seeing lower bed occupancy (69%).
It can be difficult to know which virus is causing your symptoms, especially among children this young, who may have a harder time communicating their specific problems. Symptoms of RSV are very similar to those of influenza and COVID, and a physician at Cohen Children’s Medical Center on Long Island says that the atypical appearance of RSV only complicates diagnostic questions.
“What we have been looking at recently is the significant increase in the number of children who come to the emergency room with RSV,” said Dr. James Schneider, head of pediatric intensive care at Cohen Children’s.
But Schneider says he sees an influx of all three viruses among pediatric patients and much earlier than usual.
The triple threat has pharmaceutical giants like Walgreens clamoring to get enough vaccine doses for what their customers need. The retailer says activity in its clinics is more than 10 times higher than last season and has doubled in the past two weeks.
Kristen Demundo, a Commack, Long Island pharmacist, says ailments range from colds, sore throats, and ear infections, along with flu-related symptoms, COVID, and RSV. The demand has already created a shortage of some drugs, pharmacists say, including antibiotics and amoxicillin.
So what should parents do? Whether it’s the flu, COVID, or RSV, Varma says the same protocol that has always been applied still applies now: get vaccinated, wear masks, stay in ventilated areas, avoid others who are sick, and wash your hands.
