Was Live Friday, Jan 5, 2024
Guest Speakers
- Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Chief Virologist of the Global Health Research Complex at Texas A&M University
- Dr. Manisha Newaskar, Pediatric Pulmonologist, Stanford Children’s Health
- Dr. Jose Perez, Chief Medical Officer, South Central Family Health Center
Related Coverage
Event Overview
The US is currently facing a national medical health crisis: a possible tripledemic of a simultaneous rise in Covid-19, flu, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus – RSV – cases. The surge of respiratory illnesses threatens to burden already-overburdened healthcare systems, with possible lapses in care for vulnerable communities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 29,000 Covid hospitalizations in the week ending Dec. 23. The new JN.1 subvariant accounts for nearly half of new Covid infections. The US is also facing a surge in RSV cases, a respiratory illness without a cure, largely seen in infants and older adults. And, in just the last quarter of 2023, there have been as many as 14 million cases of flu with 13,000 deaths, according to CDC estimates.
Experts this week will discuss the predicted tripledemic, the origin of JN.1, symptoms of all three infections; causes; prevention and treatment; and why vaccines and masks remain necessary.
