Respiratory viruses increasing as Americans prepare to gather for the holidays: CDC

As Americans prepare to travel and gather for the holidays, levels of respiratory viruses -- including COVID and flu -- are continuing to increase across the country.

Respiratory virus season has kicked off in the United States as Americans get ready to travel to celebrate the holidays.

Flu and COVID-19 emergency department visits and hospitalizations are continuing to increase throughout the United States, while vaccination rates lag, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, levels are still elevated in many areas of the country, although CDC data shows the weekly percent of total emergency department visits associated with RSV appears to be trending down after hitting its peak around Thanksgiving.

"[This is] good, so we don't have necessarily peaking of all of these simultaneous threats at the same time," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital, and an ABC News contributor. "At the same time, we are seeing a jump in COVID, which is not ideal because a new COVID variant, aligning with holiday travel and gatherings, is unfortunately [a] recipe for additional illness."