As people get ready for the next round of holidays, medical experts are urging them to take precautions with family gatherings, masking while on public transit and getting recommended vaccines. This is in part due to the high number of kids with respiratory illnesses that are continuing to crowd hospitals and emergency rooms nationwide. Some health officials warn of a so-called “tridemic” or “tripledemic,” essentially a triple threat from the spread of the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19, which are expected to peak post-holiday.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of U.S. states have “high” or “very high” respiratory virus activity, including New Jersey. Most of that is due to influenza, which hit early and hard this year, but RSV cases are also playing a role.
