CDC Warns ‘Tripledemic’ Levels Could Stay High For Weeks, Maybe Months
A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells Fox 5 D.C. that the agency anticipates that flu, RSV, and covid infections could remain at this high level for "several more weeks, or possibly even months." Meanwhile, over-the-counter medications used to treat these respiratory viruses are running low.
Fox News:
CDC Says Respiratory Viruses May Continue To Spread For Weeks, ‘Possibly Even Months': Report
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning Americans that the high level of multiple respiratory illnesses could linger for a while. "We anticipate that high levels of respiratory virus activity may continue for several more weeks, or possibly even months," a spokesperson with the CDC warned, according to Fox 5 D.C. (Musto, 12/20)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wisconsin Sees First Pediatric Influenza Death
In a call with reporters Tuesday, Tom Haupt, the state Department of Health Service's influenza surveillance coordinator, said the child was from Western Wisconsin. There was no evidence that the child had received a flu shot this year, Haupt said. Nationwide, 30 children have died this flu season. (Shastri, 12/20)
AP:
Flu Deaths Rise To 40 In Washington State, Vaccines Urged
The flu is spreading at a high rate in Washington state with deaths at higher rates than are usually seen at this point in the season, according to health officials. The Washington Department of Health said Tuesday that 40 people have died from the flu in Washington including three children, as of Dec. 10. (12/21)
The Atlantic:
Maybe Consider Not Kissing That Baby
Barack Obama did it. Donald Trump did it. Joe Biden, of course, has done it too. But each of them was wrong: Kissing another person’s baby is just not a good idea. ... A moratorium on infant smooching might feel like a bit of a downer—even counterintuitive, given how essential it is for infants and caregivers to touch. But kissing isn’t the only way to show affection to a newborn, and the rationale for cutting back on it specifically is one that most can get behind: keeping those same wee bebes safe. An infant’s immune system is still fragile and unlearned; it struggles to identify infectious threats and can’t marshal much of a defense even when it does. (Wu, 12/20)
On the shortage of antibiotics and painkillers —
The Washington Post:
Why Is There A Children's Tylenol Shortage? Here's What Parents Can Do.
The Washington Post spoke with experts about the shortage and to answer common questions about what parents can do to help their children if they can’t find these drugs. Here’s what they said. (Cimons and Amenabar, 12/20)
CNN:
China's Covid 'Chaos': How A Shortage Of Fever Drugs Is Sparking A Global Run On Medicines
An unprecedented wave of Covid infections in China has triggered widespread drug shortages, as people scramble to buy fever medicines and painkillers to alleviate flu-like symptoms. The panic buying has spread outside mainland China’s borders, with the generic versions of Tylenol and Advil sold out at drugstores in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and as far afield as Australia, prompting some local pharmacies to limit sales. Even home remedies such as canned peaches are being snapped up by people looking for ways to fight Covid. (He, Chen and Cheung, 12/21)
Bloomberg:
Strep A: Scarlet Fever Outbreak In UK Far Bigger Than Previously Thought
A UK outbreak of scarlet fever that has prompted shortages of some antibiotics is far more widespread than previously thought, with about 27,000 cases now reported since mid-September. More than 9,000 cases of the illnesss, caused by group A streptococcus bacteria, were reported in the latest week in England and Wales, according to the UK Health Security Agency. (Pfanner, 12/21)
