The CDC is preparing for a winter with '3 bugs out there': Covid, flu and RSV
Source: NBC News
Even as the nation is faced with blistering heat waves this summer, Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is already thinking ahead to cold and flu season this winter. “We’re going to have three bugs out there, three viruses: Covid, of course, flu and RSV,” Cohen said in an interview. “We need to make sure the American people understand all three and what they can do to protect themselves.”
Spread of all three respiratory viruses is currently low, but the CDC has begun to detect slight increases in positive Covid tests and Covid-related emergency department visits. And the decline in Covid hospitalizations has stalled. Omicron XBB subvariants remain the most prevalent forms of Covid, though on Wednesday, the World Health Organization identified a new XBB version, the EG.5, as rising in prevalence around the world and in the U.S.
It’s unclear what — if anything — the emergence of EG.5 means. The WHO noted there's no evidence that it causes more severe illness. Cohen said that so far, the virus remains susceptible to Covid shots.
For the first time this fall, the U.S. will have access to vaccines for another expected virus: respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Those shots, along with a new monoclonal antibody injection for babies and a third vaccine up for approval, have the potential to drastically reduce cases of the virus that typically hits infants and older adults hardest, experts say.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/tripledemic-covid-rsv-flu-winter-cdc-rcna95448
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RKP5637
(67,112 posts)winter for bugs.
Shermann
(9,009 posts)
Pluvious
(5,261 posts)oldsoftie
(13,538 posts)
Scrivener7
(58,454 posts)
My great great grandfather died of dysentery in Andersonville prison in the Civil War. I cannot imagine. That poor guy.
oldsoftie
(13,538 posts)Its a National Cemetery too now. Several of my friends parents are buried there
When you go thru the old area it's pretty weird.
BumRushDaShow
(166,097 posts)as well as polio (the latter more recently thanks to the type of vaccine still mostly used abroad).
TexasBushwhacker
(21,098 posts)It's treatable with antibiotics, but it's so rare in modern times that they just don't look for it. It's transmitted by fleas, ticks and lice. We can expect an increase in all vector borne illnesses because of climate change.
Warpy
(114,413 posts)usually brought in by a dog or cat that killed a rodent and bring its fleas indoors to the humans.
It's treatable with antibiotics. Deaths are vanishingly rare because it's still treatable when people start to realize it's not just the flu and they need to get help.
The one that's on the move that I really, really don't want is dengue. It is horrifically painful and the first case won't kill you, but sometimes you wish it would. The second case often does kill you.
It's one more reason I'm glad I'll never have to go back to Florida.
BumRushDaShow
(166,097 posts)
Last fall in FL - https://volusia.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2022/10/Mosquito-borned-Illnesses.html
My dad had been in WW2 in the Pacific Theater and my mom said he would talk about how so many soldiers had contracted it there in the islands where they were stationed. "Break bone" fever as it was dubbed.
BumRushDaShow
(166,097 posts)More ticks and other critters that are surviving winters in was used to be the "colder" north, is a case in point.
I don't want to jinx it but here in Philly, we have not had a winter temperature that has gone below 0 since 1994, almost 30 years.
TexasBushwhacker
(21,098 posts)"An Inconvenient Truth" from 2006. Among others, the black legged ticks that spread Lyme disease are being found in bigger areas in the US than when it was discovered in the 70s.
BumRushDaShow
(166,097 posts)and am trying to finish it!
oldsoftie
(13,538 posts)RSV CAN kill, but it kills around 150k WORLDWIDE every year; a less than .00002 rate. Which means its highly unlikely to kill YOU. And why have we never heard that much about it until recently when its always been around? Because there was never a vaccine available for it.
We all know how corporations are about maximizing profits!
Rural_Progressive
(1,107 posts)in bed, flat on my back, unable to do much but the minimum to stay alive.
I was 68 at the time, in great shape, no comorbidities, but my toddler granddaughter gave me a post Christmas present, RSV. I didn't realize how sick I was at the time and really didn't believe it until my sweetheart took a picture of me in the middle of January. I didn't recognize the terribly ill, old man in the picture.
It was a most unpleasant experience.
Pluvious
(5,261 posts)We have weakened immune systems from fighting off Covid
In particular a reduced amount of T cells
These are not normal times, friend
oldsoftie
(13,538 posts)Age groups, existing conditions, etc; all play into the equation.
But in the US, you have a greater chance of being hit by lightening than dying of RSV
If we get back to the cleaning regime we used during the worst of covid we'd see that drop even more as well as flu
They told use for decades to "wash your hands. Dont touch your face" during flu season. Amazing how well it worked when we actually DID it during the initial Covid outbreaks
unc70
(6,492 posts)The RSV deaths of adults are estimated from 5,000 to 30,000 each year. There were 28 deaths from lightning strikes. RSV is serious, not just for infants.
Response to unc70 (Reply #25)
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GP6971
(37,670 posts)of vaccines, right?
MarineCombatEngineer
(17,783 posts)
GP6971
(37,670 posts)when she gets confronted.
How've you been?
MarineCombatEngineer
(17,783 posts)taking a vacation while my truck is in the shop getting repaired and her B service.
How've you been?
GP6971
(37,670 posts)Family visiting from AZ so it's been hectic.
wnylib
(25,355 posts)I had an RSV infection that developed into pneumonia.
I don't remember it, of course, but my mother told me that I spent a month in the hospital near death before I recovered.
RSV is most severe in infants and senior citizens. Now that I am on the other end of the age spectrum, I have no desire for a repeat bout with RSV.
Aristus
(71,715 posts)They profit from the three 'V's - Valium, Vicodin, and Viagra. And other medications of that ilk. Trust me, if corporations made their billions from vaccines, they would be spending at least some of that loot countering the anti-vaxx media sources out there, and putting a muzzle on fuckwits like RFK, Jr.
Over 14,000 Americans died from RSV last year. Do you want to be the one to tell their families: "We don't need a vaccine. It was only 14,000 deaths!" - ?
But please, keep contributing to the public fear and distrust of vaccines...
oldsoftie
(13,538 posts)I've had plenty of them in my life; including 3 for Covid.
And all 3 of those drugs you mentioned are no longer exclusive; meaning they're not making nearly as much off them either. Now you can get "viagra" off the internet!
unc70
(6,492 posts)oldsoftie
(13,538 posts)
Skittles
(169,762 posts)they said lightening 
Aristus
(71,715 posts)The RSV vaccine is not a solution in search of a problem. It is a problem that, in the past, required a general precaution against infection; such as, like you pointed out above, washing your hands and avoiding touching your face. Because there was no pathogen-specific vaccine against it. So it faded into the background among other respiratory illnesses for which there were the same precautions.
The only reason you're hearing about the RSV vaccine right now is because there finally is one. And it's another tool in our box for reducing the overall mortality rate. And like any other tool, it works best when it is actually used. When I offer the vaccine to my patients, I don't want them rolling their eyes and saying: "Another corporate pay-day, huh?"
oldsoftie
(13,538 posts)between people NOT wanting to do what you suggest; meds or otherwise, to DEMANDING something they saw on the TV that they dont need.
Before the shingles ads came out I never really thought or heard much about it. One day before my annual physical, my friend called me up & she had a case & she felt like crap. Next day my Dr said "Doesnt look like you've ever had a shingles vax; you're in the age group for it I think you should get it". I dont think he'd mentioned it in years prior. I think my friends call & him bringing it up was the sign!
Aristus
(71,715 posts)perfectly. Media messages encouraging patients to demand certain treatments, even if they are wildly inappropriate. Or to decline something they need.
Just yesterday morning, I had a patient, more or less reflexively, decline the Shingles vaccine. She just thought it was some type of innocuous rash. I had to tell her that it was very, very painful, and getting vaccinated is the better way to go. She consented pretty quickly after that.
Response to Aristus (Reply #34)
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MarineCombatEngineer
(17,783 posts)BTW, what do you like on your pizza?
Aristus
(71,715 posts)They deleted him before I could send my ripost!
Thanks for guarding the bridge, MCE. 
MarineCombatEngineer
(17,783 posts)as soon as I saw the post, I knew exactly who it was and knew she would be gone in a jiffy.
oldsoftie
(13,538 posts)MarineCombatEngineer
(17,783 posts)Ya snooze, ya lose.
As soon as I saw the post, I knew exactly who it was.
Response to Name removed (Reply #38)
ItsjustMe This message was self-deleted by its author.
Aristus
(71,715 posts)make an attempt to be able to read and understand this: chicken pox itself, or varicella zoster, is a risk factor for shingles. When I was a kid, we were told that if we got chicken pox, we would be immune to varicella for life. And that's kind of true. Unfortunately, over time, as we age, the varicella virus undergoes what is called seroconversion into the herpes zoster virus, the virus that causes shingles. So you fell for the same kind of misinformation as every other anti-vaxx chuzzlewit out there. This isn't the place for that. Find some podcast hosted by some fat, red-faced screaming guy who hates everyone and everything, and you'll feel much more at home.
Delphinus
(12,480 posts)And I learned a new word - chuzzlewit! I like it.
Aristus
(71,715 posts)n/t
Blues Heron
(8,430 posts)Among US adults, an estimated 177,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths associated with RSV infections occur annually. However, these are likely underestimates of RSV-associated deaths. In recent years, laboratory testing for RSV has increased in availability and practice. A more accurate assessment of RSV-associated deaths is important for establishing a baseline level of mortality ahead
Lunabell
(7,309 posts)Older adults and those with chronic health problems are at a way higher risk. Don't peddle right wing talking points!
https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/rsv/rsv-in-adults#:~:text=As%20you%20age%2C%20your%20body,lingering%20symptoms%20you%20are%20experiencing.
LiberalFighter
(53,544 posts)
kimbutgar
(26,895 posts)Talk about ironic Justice! I can only wish! 
Aristus
(71,715 posts)It has an 83% effectiveness rate among patients with no significant risk factors. And a whopping 94% effectiveness rating with patients who are immunocompromised and/or have respiratory risk factors; patients with diabetes, asthma, COPD, etc.
The presenting doctor broke down the stats from the clinical trials. It is considered by the medical community to be one of the most accurate, complete, and comprehensive human clinical trials in history.
Although I'm excited to have another tool for keeping my patients healthy and disease-resistant, I never look forward to having to arm-wrestle them, best two-out-of-three, to convince them to get immunized. The right-wing's media machine for the stupid and ignorant has done its work well.
After I have exhausted all of the medical reasons why a patient should get vaccinated, and overcome all of their objections, I sometimes get hit with "I just don't want to", which means: "I know you're right, and I'm wrong. But I don't have the stones to admit it."
Oh well; to battle!......
Wednesdays
(21,653 posts)When will it become widely available? Or is it available already?
Aristus
(71,715 posts)n/t
Delphinus
(12,480 posts)received my pneumonia shot - doc said I could live to 100 (please, no!) and never need another.
Is the RSV vaccine the same thing?
Aristus
(71,715 posts)The clinical trials have been wildly successful for proving efficacy against an RSV infection. But we only have three years-worth of data on which to base an estimate for immune longevity. So far, there does seem to be evidence that the immunity attenuates over time (just how long, again, we don't know yet), and that regular vaccination may be necessary, just as with influenza. I'm going to tell my patients that getting immunized regularly beats dying just once.
Delphinus
(12,480 posts)I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and wisdom.
Aristus
(71,715 posts)
calimary
(89,129 posts)I had been tempted to think it had pretty much been conquered.
oldsoftie
(13,538 posts)We just hope that a "Delta" type variant doesnt reappear.
Pluvious
(5,261 posts)#CovidIsNotOver
It’s just been deprioritized by governments and media
All the peeps and kids with LC (Long Covid) have been forgotten by the rest of us
The anecdotal stories by care professionals are overwhelming :-/
mnhtnbb
(33,148 posts)from 2weeks in Scotland. They think they were probably exposed on the train back to Edinburgh three days before flying home. My son's symptoms were mostly like a bad cold; his partner is more sick and just started Paxlovid.
It is out there.
NewEnglandAutumn
(262 posts)Consider getting a pneumonia vaccine
PlutosHeart
(1,445 posts)Between Canadian smoke, allergies, and fear of covid which is still occasionally in my area...
sakabatou
(45,799 posts)LetMyPeopleVote
(175,358 posts)
ananda
(34,491 posts)Yay
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(133,136 posts)Wouldn't be so bad if it was only the idiots who caught it.
yellowdogintexas
(23,595 posts)simply because it had not been identified as a separate virus.
I'm old enough to remember folks dying of pneumonia which at the time was believed to be " a bad cold that went wrong". Any respiratory virus infection can develop into a very serious situation in the right circumstances. Way back then, you would often hear a person died of "viral Pneumonia"; I always wondered if that was a virus which directly attacked the lungs, rather than a bacterial lung infection which was a complication of a flu, cold or other viral incident. Certainly RSV had not been identified that long ago or we would have known about it.
Mr YD has early stage COPD and lives in fear of Covid. I will insist he get that RSV as soon as possible.
I can't take the RSV or pneumonia vax right now because I am currently in a clinical trial for a combo RSV/Pneumonia vaccine; I had to be over 65 to participate. Good news is I have a 50% chance of being vaccinated; bad news is I have 50% chance of placebo. If I did get placebo, I can get the vaccine when the trial is over.