State of Affairs for January 9

Here's the latest issue of “Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE)” written by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, M.P.H. Ph.D.  Some excerpts follow:

"Influenza-like illnesses: Very high.  Covid-19: High and increasing. Flu: High but slowing down. RSV: Declining 

"Covid-19 continues to take the lead for severe disease as indicated by hospitalizations and deaths.The vaccination disparity is still staggering, with Covid-19 vaccine coverage less than half that of the flu. Even more concerning: only 1 in 3 nursing home residents are up-to-date on Covid-19 vaccines, which is just unacceptable at this point. 

"Other things to pay attention to:

• A measles outbreak in Philadelphia. In addition to the index case, 5 locally acquired cases have been identified. Of those, 4 were hospitalized. All were unvaccinated.

• Norovirus (think vomiting and diarrhea) continues to go up and up. Wash those hands.

• Missing work because of sickness remains higher than in pre-pandemic times, but not as high as we saw throughout the emergency.

"Bottom line: There are a lot of sick people out there. Other than Covid-19 infections, this winter seems to largely mirror last year. Is this our new normal? Probably, which is bad news for hospitals, parents’ sanity, and overall quality of life during winter. It’s not too late to get vaccinated—even if things start to peak, we are only halfway through the journey. I continue to wear that mask in crowded indoor areas; it will help."

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Reliable newsletters like this one are so helpful in filling the void when you never hear about these illnesses any more on TV.  Pretending they don't exist doesn't help at all.