WLWT: Hospital systems working through multiple viruses spiking
UC expert says this flu season could be the worst in more than a decade
Hospitals in the Cincinnati area are dealing with what some are calling a 'tripledemic' of RSV, COVID-19 and the flu. WLWT reported that according to the Health Collaborative, COVID-19 hospitalizations across Ohio counties in greater Cincinnati are at 176 patients. That's 41 more than Friday. About 180 people are hospitalized with the flu. It's a major spike from the week before. One of the experts cited by WLWT is Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UC College of Medicine.
Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UC College of Medicine/Photo/Joe Fuqua/UC Marketing + Brand
"Most of our hospitals have been running fairly close to capacity now anyway for quite some time," Fichtenbaum said."What this does with all of the viruses around is it just pushes all of our hospitals in the area to just be a little bit fuller. The emergency rooms are just a little bit more crowded," Fichtenbaum said.
While we work through these viruses, experts predict there may be more on the way.
"I suspect we'll see some more stuff because this is really the first full year that everybody's back in circulation not wearing masks and we're just sharing viruses," Fichtenbaum said.
Fichtenbaum says this is one of the most potent flu seasons since 2009. That's why he's urging people to roll up their sleeves and get the flu vaccine sooner rather than later.
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