The Perfect Enemy | Mass. doctor on possible winter ‘tridemic’ of RSV, influenza and COVID-19

Mass. doctor on possible winter ‘tridemic’ of RSV, influenza and COVID-19

>> YOU ARE WATCHING WCVB NEWSCENTER 5 AT 5:30 P.M. ERIKA: THE AMOUNT OF COVID IN WASTEWATER REACHES THE LOWEST LEVEL SINCE MARCH. THANKS FOR JOINING US. BEN: YOU HAVE SEEN THE HEADLINES AS WE HAVE HERE. SOME DOCTORS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT A VIRAL TRIED TO MAKE THIS WINTER A COMBINATION OF COVID, FLU, AND RSV. BUT WASTEWATER DATA SUGGESTS THAT COVID CERTAILY SEEMS THAT THE LOWEST THREAT LEVEL IT HAS BEEN IN THE BETTER PART OF A WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THOSE NUMBERS? >> THERE IS A LOT OF COVID OUT THERE BUT NOT A LOT OF CASES ARE ENDING UP IN THE HOSPITAL AND THE WASTEWATER NUMBERS SHOW IT IS NOWHERE NEAR WHAT WE SAW LAST JANUARY. AND AT THE MOMENT, THOSE LEVELS ARE DECLINING. BUT WITH COLD WEATHER, WE COULD SEE CASES RISE AGAIN AND THE POSSIBILITY OF A NEW VARIANT TO THROW EVERYTHING OFF. ERIKA: WE CAN HEAR YOU. STILL BE CAUTIOUS. FACE MASKS OFFER PROTECTION AGAINST MANY VIRUSES. WHAT ARE YOU TELLING YOUR PATIENTS ABOUT WEARING MASKS? >> STUDIES ON PUBLIC MASK USE HAVE NOT SHOWN MUCH EFFECT WHICH IS WHY THAT STRATEGY IS NOT RECOMMENDED BEFORE COVID. ALL VIRUSES ARE DIFFERENT. FOR SOME LIGHT COVID, AEROSOL PLAYS A BIG ROLE. FOR OTHERS, HAND HYGIENE ARE MORE IMPORTANT. I TELL PEOPLE THAT MASKS ARE A TOOL ALONG WITH VACCINATION, HAND HYGIENE, STAYING AWAY FROM SICK PEOPLE, AND MAINTAINING BASIC HEALTH. UNFORTUNATELY, YOU CAN’T AVOID RESPIRATORY VIRUSES FOREVER. BEN: THIS SEASON THERE HAVE BEEN SIX TO 900 HOSPITALIZATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. A NATIONWIDE TOTAL AND 360 DEATHS NATIONWIDE. HOW DO THOSE NUMBERS STACK UP FOR WHAT IS TYPICAL THIS TIME OF THE YEAR AS WE ENTER THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER? >> THE FLU NUMBERS ARE HIGHER THAN EXPECTED FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR THAT WE ARE SEEING FLU EARLIER BUT THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY HIGHER THAN WE EXPECT DURING THE WINTER. WHAT WE DON’T KNOW IS WHETHER WE WILL SEE A FLU SEASON THAT HAS SHIFTED EARLIER BUT NORMAL OR IF WE WILL SEE AN EXTRA BAD FLU SEASON WITH CASES AND HOSPITALIZATIONS AREA WHAT IS REASSURING IS THAT IN AUSTRALIA WHERE THEY JUST FINISHED HAVING THEIR FIRST REAL FLU SEASON SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN, THEY SAW A LOT OF CASES BUT NOT AN UNUSUAL NUMBER OF HOSPITALIZATION. ERIK

Mass. doctor on possible winter ‘tridemic’ of RSV, influenza and COVID-19

Dr. Shira Doron, the hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, talks about COVID-19 levels in wastewater, and the flu outbreak so far this fall.