Respiratory syncytial viral (RSV), COVID-19 and influenza are continuing to overwhelm health systems across the U.S., well before the traditional start of peak flu and RSV season.
Currently, about three-quarters of hospital beds are already full in the U.S., according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
COVID-19 cases have ticked up about 16% over the past two weeks, NBC News reported, and experts have said that cases will likely get even higher as more people gather indoors during the holiday season. Also, a COVID wave recently hit Europe, which could mean one is on the way in the U.S.
Influenza cases, meanwhile, are skyrocketing, with hospitalizations, driven in large part by children, at their highest in 10 years for this point in the season. The number of flu hospitalizations during the last week in November was almost double that of the previous week.
The number of flu deaths since the beginning of October — about 4,500, including 14 kids — is already close to surpassing the total for last flu season, about 5,000. There have been an estimated 8.7 million flu illnesses so far, compared to 9 million in total last season.
“This year’s flu season is off to a rough start,” Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, board chair of the American Medical Association, said at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention press briefing on Dec. 5. “Flu is here. It started early, and with COVID and RSV also circulating, it’s a perfect storm for a terrible holiday season.”
RSV by state
RSV, a virus that primarily affects kids and older adults, has been making headlines over the past few weeks because it’s been causing severe illness at unprecedented levels. Several doctors have told TODAY.com that they’ve never seen such a high number of kids who’ve required so much medical intervention due to the virus.
While CDC data shows cases nationally are trending downward, cases of RSV by state are another story. CDC director Rochelle Walensky said at the Dec. 5 briefing that RSV cases have peaked in the South and Southeast, and plateaued in the Mid-Atlantic, New England and Midwest.
But California hospitals are still feeling stressed, the Los Angeles Times reported. And state-level RSV data gathered by the CDC show 23 states saw increases the week of Nov. 19. (The CDC gathers the five-week average of detected RSV cases per week for most states.) These states are:
- Oregon
- Idaho
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Montana
- Colorado
- South Dakota
- Nebraska
- Kansas
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Indiana
- Ohio
- Georgia
- Florida
- Vermont
- Massachusetts
- New York
- Connecticut
- New Jersey
- West Virginia
On a national level, cases of RSV are still higher than they were in early October, when children’s hospitals first started to feel the strain of the surge, as TODAY.com reported at the time. What’s more, it’s unclear if the downturn will hold, as RSV typically peaks in January or February.
“Nationally, the numbers do seem to be turning down,” Dr. Ashish Jha, coordinator for the White House COVID-19 Task Force, told NBC News. “We’ll want to see over the next couple of weeks where that goes. But the preliminary evidence right now is pretty hopeful.”
Pediatric hospital beds available by state
Regardless of what happens with each individual “very contagious” virus, as Jha described them, it’s clear that hospitals, especially those serving children, are overwhelmed, and parents who must take their child to one could be in for some lengthy wait times, if they can get a bed at all.
TODAY.com previously reported that one mom waited 16 hours in an Oklahoma emergency room as her 4-year-old daughter struggled to breathe. NBC Washington spoke with a Maryland mom whose son waited a week for a bed in an intensive care unit.
NBC News is tracking the percentage and number of pediatric hospital beds that are available by state this RSV season, to get a sense of where parents need to be most vigilant about protecting kids from respiratory illnesses. RSV and flu are likely responsible for many of hospitalizations, but other conditions are contributing, too.
As of Nov. 24, about 30,000 of the country’s 40,000 pediatric hospital beds were available. Five states are at 90% capacity or higher. Currently the most overwhelmed state is Maine, at 109% capacity, followed by Arizona, Minnesota, Idaho and Rhode Island.
As flu and RSV season progress, check back to see how full pediatric hospital beds are in your state.
Source: Today
