It's only November, but flu strains and RSV are already busy

Heading into the holiday season, it's good to remember that this year's flu season is already in full swing with the "triple threat" of influenza, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

RSV arrived early this year, which makes its cycle harder to predict, writes Katelyn Jetelina in her Your Local Epidemiologist newsletter: "Historically, the RSV season lasts five months. It will be interesting to see how the holidays impact RSV patterns. Typically RSV peaks in January, but because it has arrived so early, we are in new viral dynamic territory." The disease poses the greatest threat to infants and seniors.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention map

This year's dominant flu strain is potent, but there have been some early and limited but encouraging signs, Jetelina reports: "There is good news from the Southern Hemisphere among countries that just concluded their flu season. Chile, for example, found the flu vaccine is a good match for the current strain. They are reporting a 49% efficacy rate," Jetelina reports, "But only 28% of Americans are vaccinated against the flu. This is almost 10 percentage points lower than pre-pandemic rates, which is frustrating."

American hospital systems have already been stressed by Covid-19 and early RSV. Jetelina reminds her readers that people can get infected with more than one virus at a time and taking precautions like staying home when sick and updating vaccinations can keep you and others out of the hospital.