The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that New York City is one of a few places where lung illnesses are at very high rates this month.
The news comes after a previous report from the CDC that warned of a 30% rise in illnesses for people with COVID-19. Young children and older people are most likely to end up in the hospital.
Some illnesses are making life difficult in the Tri-State area, as well as in most Southern states, much of the Southwest, and California. COVID-19 is just one of them.
All of these areas had high or very high levels of COVID-19, RSV for Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection, or flu.
The three horrible people have been called “the tripledemic.”
North Carolina and South Carolina are the worst states in the US. In upstate New York, which is closer to home, the illnesses are not as common.
A doctor in Dallas County, Dr. Philip Huang, told ABC News, “Everything we’re hearing about it is not a new virus or pathogen; it’s just the usual things that happen every season that might be coming together.”
“The way to stay healthy is the same: stay home when you’re sick, wash your hands, cough into your sleeve, don’t rub your eyes, nose, or mouth, and get your shots up to date.”
Also, more people are going to the hospital because of the flu. Between the last week of November and the beginning of December, there were 5,753 cases. The CDC says that number is up from 4,268 the week before.
Recently, there has been a very small drop in RSV cases. As a way to handle the increase, hospitals in Washington are bringing back mask laws inside.
In October, Dr. Kristin Englund of the Cleveland Clinic said that the unpleasant mix of diseases would show up this winter, after having a big effect on people last year.
She says that the most basic ways to stay safe are to stay home when you’re sick, wash your hands, and clean places that a lot of people touch.
Dr. Englund also says that getting vaccinated regularly is important, especially for Covid-19.
“Unfortunately, COVID keeps changing, so the vaccines we used to have don’t work against it anymore,” she said.
At the moment, the CDC is keeping an eye on variation JN.1, which came from an Omicron subvariant.
At the moment, about one fifth of cases are like this.