"ILI: Influenza-like illness (ILI) remained stable this week at 4.4% of doctor visits for symptoms of fever plus cough or sore throat, continuing to exceed the national baseline of 2.9%. This means flu season continues to chug along, with very high ILI activity reported in areas spanning from Wyoming to New Mexico to Ohio to D.C. to New York City.
"COVID-19: Good news on the Covid-19 front, at least. New weekly Covid-19 hospitalizations are consistently decreasing, reaching levels last seen in November. All age groups are now seeing a decline in hospitalizations. In addition, emergency department visits and test positivity have been improving.
"RSV: Most of the country is now out of RSV season, with PCR test positivity rates falling below 5%. The only region above this line is the Midwest, but it should see continued improvements in the coming weeks.
"Stomach Bugs: At the national level, we continue to advance through peak season. PCR test positivity is 12.3%, up about a point from last week. Test positivity usually peaks in the teens (e.g., 14-16%) around March. Norovirus causes vomiting and diarrhea. It’s sometimes called the stomach bug or the 24 hour flu, but that is a misnomer because it is not related to influenza.
"In Other News: A sizeable cluster (seven cases) of measles at a Florida elementary school has drawn national attention. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo issued a letter advising parents to make their own decisions regarding whether to keep their unvaccinated children home from school. This is a departure from the usual handling of measles outbreaks. The letter also did not explicitly recommend the MMR vaccine for people who are unvaccinated. Most children do not receive their first dose of the MMR vaccine until 12-15 months of age (though it can be administered earlier, if needed), and so I worry especially about the impact of these outbreak management decisions on infants."
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