黑料吃瓜网 is facing an earlier-than-usual flu season with a substantial swell in cases, about 6,000 so far and 102 hospital admissions, Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani said Monday, even as the state is dealing with a crush of respiratory syncytial virus cases among young children.
The first flu death of the season was reported Monday, a man in his 50s from New London.
鈥淲e have not had a flu season this early over the last four years,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it is continuing to trend up. We can only expect that [cases] will get higher.鈥�
At this point last year, the state had reported 51 flu cases and four hospitalizations. During the last winter before COVID swept through 黑料吃瓜网 and masking became more common 鈥� the 2019-2020 season 鈥� the state recorded 114 flu cases and 43 hospitalizations by this point, public health officials said.
黑料吃瓜网 has already been weathering a flood of RSV cases among kids, and leaders at children鈥檚 hospitals worry the rising flu cases will make the crowded situation worse in intensive care units and emergency departments.
鈥淔or the last six weeks, we have been over capacity, which means we鈥檝e had an average of 15 to 20 children who require admission 鈥� but they haven鈥檛 been able to be brought up to one of our inpatient beds,鈥� Dr. Juan Salazar, physician-in-chief at 黑料吃瓜网 Children鈥檚 Medical Center, this month. 鈥淪o they鈥檙e remaining in our emergency department bays, awaiting a bed to open to be able to move them upstairs.鈥�
Officials at Yale New Haven Children鈥檚 Hospital also expressed concern.
鈥淔ar and away, the biggest concern is that influenza is going to accelerate rapidly and RSV will not decrease as rapidly,鈥� said Dr. Tom Murray, associate medical director for infection prevention. 鈥淭he next few weeks, it鈥檚 very possible we will have a lot of RSV and a lot of flu, which will push our capacity. We鈥檙e having active surge meetings to try to decide how we鈥檙e going to handle it.鈥�
The state is also bracing for an increase in COVID cases this winter.
鈥淚 am still of the belief that COVID will surge,鈥� Juthani said Monday. 鈥淭his is the first season we鈥檝e had with all these viruses competing with each other. My guess is that we will still see a COVID peak, maybe in January or February.
鈥淥ne of the things that鈥檚 challenging from a pediatric perspective is that we don鈥檛 have a very deep bench of providers 鈥� we may have people, for example, who are in the National Guard or other places who could be brought in for adult care. But unfortunately, a lot of the people who have that type of skill set are already working in our pediatric hospitals. So that is a little bit of a challenge.鈥�
Unlike hospitals treating adults, where elective surgeries were postponed during the most hectic stretches of the pandemic, children鈥檚 hospitals have struggled to do the same.
鈥淢ost children who need surgery generally need the surgery 鈥� they won鈥檛 have an elective hip replacement or knee replacement or something that could be put off,鈥� Juthani said.
Some adult hospitals have been able to place older children 鈥� 15-, 16- or 17-year-olds 鈥� in their beds when possible and appropriate, she said.
Salazar has cited three possible reasons for the increase in serious RSV cases this year. Isolation and precautions taken during the last two winters meant children weren鈥檛 exposed to the typical seasonal viruses (mask mandates in schools were dropped in March of this year) and lacked immunity. Pregnant people also were not exposed to as many viruses.
Many children have also been infected with COVID, he said, and even mild cases could reduce their ability to fight off other illnesses. And the RSV strain spreading this year may also be more transmissible and virulent than previous strains.
Last month, officials at 黑料吃瓜网 Children鈥檚 and the state had considered opening a field hospital 鈥� a tent outside the facility 鈥� with the help of the National Guard. But with the weather growing colder, physicians decided instead to expand capacity inside the hospital.
鈥淯nfortunately that mechanism, which we did offer, is really not something that鈥檚 great for sustaining care over many, many months in the cold winter,鈥� Juthani said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really intended for a disaster or maybe a week, two weeks at most.鈥�
鈥淲e have worked with our hospitals, provided information about different contractors who can provide trailers and would like to be able to provide care in a more sustained way. I will be meeting with those hospitals again in the coming week or so to identify what their plans are.鈥�
In the meantime, Juthani urged people to get their and COVID boosters. Parents should make sure their children are up to date on vaccinations, she said.
鈥淥ne more plug for COVID and flu vaccines, which we know are our best shot at reducing severity of disease,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t may prevent disease, it may not be completely protective, but it will certainly 鈥� reduce the severity of the disease going forward.鈥�