'Tripledemic' | Louisville health experts sound alarm as flu, RSV and COVID cases soar - WDRB

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Health experts successful Louisville are calling it a "tripledemic", arsenic hospitals nationwide go overwhelmed with a operation of respiratory viruses and illnesses that are particularly unsafe to children and elder citizens.

Kristina Bryant, an epidemiologist astatine Norton Children's Hospital successful Louisville, says nary 1 is immune. "It is simply a existent thing," she said. "We are seeing hospitalizations successful kids of each ages."

Health experts person coined a word for the three-fold menace of RSV, flu and COVID: "tripledemic."

Bryant says Norton Children's Hospital "has been seeing grounds numbers of kids successful the exigency department."

It's happening successful pediatric exigency rooms crossed the country, and present the American Academy of Pediatrics is calling connected President Biden to state a nationalist emergency.

In Louisville 20 pediatric patients are presently hospitalized with influenza astatine Norton Children's. And Bryant says determination are galore much respiratory cases.

"If we conscionable look astatine who is hospitalized astatine Norton Children connected the downtown field today, we person 3 kids hospitalized with COVID, 2 further kids who person COVID and RSV," Bryant said, adding: "We person 11 kids hospitalized with conscionable RSV infections."

According to the CDC, hospitalization rates for the week of Nov. 12th were doubly arsenic precocious arsenic immoderate different flu play connected record.

The White House says the country's nationalist stockpile has supplies similar ventilators and idiosyncratic protective equipment, but truthful acold determination aren't immoderate states that person requested them.

Bryant reminds everyone not to hide the precautions that were taken during the tallness of the pandemic, not the slightest of which is to enactment location if you're feeling sick.

"It's important for radical who person acold symptoms to enactment location truthful they don’t infect idiosyncratic else," Bryant said.

"Last year, flu play went each the mode until June truthful aggregate viruses tin circulate successful 1 season.

Instead of declaring a nationalist emergency, national officials accidental they are acceptable to assistance communities connected a case-by-case basis.

As usual, 1 of the champion precautions you tin instrumentality is to marque definite you and your children support up to day connected vaccinations, including the latest COVID booster.

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