Respiratory illness season begins to ramp up now. Here’s what’s already starting to hit

Respiratory disease season is off to a relatively slow start in the United States, but low vaccination rates threaten that trend and the rapid rise of some illnesses is already putting children at increased risk.

Despite a relatively slow start to respiratory disease season, low vaccination rates threaten that trend and the rapid rise of some illnesses is already putting children at increased risk. Overall, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that this season could be similar — or even better — than the last, but the peak rate of respiratory virus hospitalizations will likely be well above what they typically were in years before the Covid-19 pandemic. For now, though, Covid-19 levels in the US are nearly the lowest they’ve been since the start of the pandemic and they’re decreasing, according to CDC data from December 2. Wastewater data suggests that flu and respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, are also circulating at low levels but emergency department visits for both viruses have started to rise. There is still a lot that could change, experts say. “Historically, we see an increase in cases about a week after Thanksgiving and how quickly they increase between then and the Christmas holidays gives us a better sense of the season,” said Dr. Andy Pekosz, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The potential for new Covid-19 variants factors into the CDC’s forecasts for respiratory disease season, but “vaccination is expected to play a key role in preventing hospitalizations” for flu, Covid-19 and RSV, the agency said.