YORK, Pa. — As the end of the year approaches and the holiday season continues, health experts are seeing a surge in viruses, infections, and diseases they’re now calling a "Triple-Demic."
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection, COVID-19, and flu are the leading illnesses during the winter months. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH), flu cases have been spiking more than in years before.
“At UPMC Central Pennsylvania, we have 50 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, so that’s up a little bit. And we have 50 flu cases, so we actually have as many patients in the hospital with the flu as we do with COVID,” said Dr. John Goldman, Infectious Disease Specialist at UPMC.
Data compiled from Pennsylvania DOH are only cases for people who seek care and have tested positive for the flu. The Information gathered so far is only from the start of the flu season, October 10, to the most recent data, which was compiled until November 26. The graph below shows reported flu cases so far into the season.
“Our emergency rooms are full, our hospitals are full, and it reminds us even though it’s ‘just the flu’ it can cause severe disease and put you in the hospital,” Dr. Goldman explained.
“Typically 20 to 30,000 Americans die each year from the flu and about a quarter ends up in the hospital,” he added.
Goldman says that they’re unable to anticipate what the data could be for the next few weeks with several holidays left on the calendar. Experts are expecting this flu season to be the worse Pennsylvania has seen in decades.
“The problem is we’ve seen some flu seasons where it’s gone up quickly and come down quickly and we’ve seen some flu seasons when it went up quickly and stayed up. My hope is it’s going to go up quickly and come down quickly. My fear is it’s going to go up and stay up,” said Dr. Goldman.
Dr. Goldman said due to masking and social distancing in the previous years, many people haven’t built up immunity or have been exposed to flu before causing more people to become sick. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Flu cases were the lowest during the height of the pandemic. Figure 2 shows cases from this season and previous seasons.
Goldman said catching the flu can be avoided if Pennsylvanians take preventative steps. He encouraged residents to get their shots, wash their hands, and stay home if they are feeling sick to prevent the spread of any illnesses.
“We’re really emphasizing people should get a flu shot,” said Dr. Goldman. “We’re likely to see flu activity within the next one to two months, and getting a flu shot is likely to protect you at the peak of flu season.”
A full breakdown of the flu data can be found here.
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