◎Intern reporter Zhang Jiaxin

　　【Today's Viewpoint】

　　For more than two years, closed schools and offices, social distancing and wearing masks have given Americans a "respite" from the flu and most other respiratory infections, according to The New York Times.

However, this winter may be different.

With few quarantine measures in place, travel and socializing in the U.S. is in full swing.

　　Several foreign media reported that this winter, the United States is likely to face a "triple epidemic" situation, with a simultaneous surge in the number of new crown, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.

　　"The combination of a shortage of healthcare workers, insufficient bed capacity and a spreading viral disease has created an unfortunate 'storm' that we are now seeing," said Dr. John Brownstein, epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital. It's happening all over America."

　　"We're seeing everything come back," said Alpana Wagmare, an infectious disease specialist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and a physician at Seattle Children's Hospital.

　　Symptoms are likely mild in most people with COVID-19, the flu and RSV, but together they could sicken millions of Americans and "flood" hospitals, public health experts have warned.

　　The New York Times reported, citing experts, that Covid-19 and flu vaccines still offer the best protection against serious illness and death.

They urge everyone, especially high-risk groups, to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

RSV cases surge

Children's Hospital Overwhelmed

　　RSV cases are rising rapidly among children, overwhelming pediatric hospitals, according to CBS.

　　"A lot of pediatric ICUs across the country are overcrowded," said CBS Medical News contributor Dr. David Argus. "Most hospitalizations are now related to influenza and RSV, not COVID-19."

　　The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says RSV can pose a risk to anyone, but the greatest risk is to children under the age of 5, especially infants under the age of 1, and older adults over 65.

RSV kills about 14,000 people each year among seniors 65 and older and as many as 300 among children under 5.

　　Symptoms of RSV infection can look like the common cold, such as a runny nose, decreased appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever, and wheezing.

In young infants, symptoms such as decreased activity, irritability or lethargy, and difficulty breathing may only be present.

Children are especially prone to severe symptoms because of their underdeveloped immune systems, smaller airways than adults, and more difficulty breathing when inflamed.

　　There is currently no vaccine against RSV, but at least two candidate vaccines are in late-stage clinical trials and appear to be very effective in older adults.

Pfizer is also developing an antiviral drug.

Variant "forces" on the rise

The new crown is still mutating

　　CDC data shows that the number of cases of COVID-19 has not yet started to soar.

But in previous years, the virus started spreading rapidly around Thanksgiving.

　　According to the New York Times, the number of people diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia in some parts of the United States has begun to rise.

Hospitalizations and deaths are also rising in several European countries, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

　　Some new coronavirus variants are good at evading the "attack" of the immune system and drugs, and their "power" is "rising".

U.S. public health experts are particularly concerned about a series of Omicron variants that appear to evade the effects of vaccines better than previous ones.

　　Until recently, the Omicron BA.5 subtype had been the most immune evasive variant, but it is rapidly being replaced by other variants, two of which showed greater immunity evasion.

One of the variants, known as BQ.1.1, is the leading candidate for the winter outbreak, which has already seen a surge in cases in Europe.

It and the BQ.1 variant already account for 11% of new confirmed cases in the United States, up from 3% two weeks ago.

　　The Omicron subtype variant XBB has sparked a wave of outbreaks in Singapore, which has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.

A subtype variant of XBB, XBB.1, has just arrived in the United States.

Another variant called BA.2.75.2 is also highly immune and causes more severe disease.

　　Most other variants don't appear to cause more severe symptoms than earlier versions, but the trend of immune evasion is likely to continue, experts say.

Vaccination rates drop

Flu season arrives early

　　Before the new coronavirus swept the world, the flu virus sickened millions and killed tens of thousands of Americans each winter.

During the 2018-2019 flu season, influenza resulted in 13 million hospital visits, 380,000 hospitalizations, and 28,000 deaths.

　　This year, the flu started weeks earlier than usual in Australia and New Zealand in the southern hemisphere, with significantly higher numbers of cases and hospitalizations.

A similar trend is seen in the Northern Hemisphere.

　　The CDC said flu season in the U.S. has started early, with much of the country reporting an early increase in seasonal flu activity as of Oct. 21.

There are signs that winter may be much worse than the previous spring and summer.

　　According to the CDC, as of Oct. 8, about 3 percent of people nationwide had tested positive for the flu; but in some states in the Southeast it was more than 10 percent; in the South Central, it was more than 5 percent. %.

In Texas, the percentage of people who tested positive for the flu jumped from 3.7% in late September to 5.3% in early October.

　　Some southern states have also reported an uptick in ventilator use.

In New York, health officials have announced that the flu has spread widely in the state.

　　Last year, flu vaccination rates for all age groups fell slightly from the previous year, according to a CDC analysis.

In addition, vaccination rates for certain groups are much lower in the U.S., leading to an increased risk of severe illness and hospitalization from the flu in some communities.

　　Public health experts say the elderly and the immunocompromised should get both the Covid-19 and flu vaccines.

　　Science and Technology Daily