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ASHEVILLE, NC –  January 17, 2024 – There is a surge of respiratory viral infections, like COVID-19, influenza (the flu) and RSV, as people spend more time indoors during the cold winter months and due to an increase in indoor gatherings and travel during the holidays. However, the COVID pandemic has made us aware that we can take steps to reduce spreading respiratory viruses. Therefore, we have to protect at-risk groups, like older adults and the immunocompromised, who remain susceptible to getting severely ill.

The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard. For the week ending on January 6^th  

• Hospital admission levels are low in about 60% of the counties in North Carolina, including Buncombe County, and high in 0%. They are low in about half of the counties in the U.S. and high in less than 10%. Admissions have increased in the U.S. by about 3%, decreased in North Carolina by about 5% and increased in Buncombe County from the previous week.
• About 5.0% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 3^rd highest level of 6 groups.
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are moderate in North Carolina. This represents about 4.0% of all ER visits, the 3^rd lowest of 5 levels and a moderate decrease from the previous week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data for the week ending on January 3^rd is on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard.

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a red level representing the highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 80^th and 100^th percentile relative to the past level measured at the same site.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has increased from the previous week, at 100% or greater, the highest level of 3 groups for a positive rate of change.

The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on January 6^th indicates that levels are either high or very high for every southern state from California to the East coast. North Carolina is at a very high level, the 11^th highest of 13 levels.

The CDC reports that the 3-week average for the percent positivity for RSV PCR tests in North Carolina had climbed to more than 10% from November 4^th to December 16^th reaching a peak of almost 15% around Thanksgiving. The most recent report on the week of January 6^th shows that percent positivity is down to about 7%.

The weekly North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard was last updated for the week ending on January 6^th. Emergency room visits for people with respiratory virus symptoms have decreased by more than 25%. Hospital admissions have decreased for both COVID and the flu. There were more admissions for COVID than the flu last week.

Dr. Mandy Cohen, the CDC director, told Yahoo Life, if you are starting to feel sick with a cough, sore throat or fever: get tested, get treatment, and stay home.

Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells USA Today.com that COVID-19 cases should increase over the winter as they have the past 3 years.

Listen to the full report below:

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

ATLANTA, GA – January 10, 2024 – Many hospitals in North Carolina and the U.S. have begun to require masks because of the surge in the number of people having respiratory viral infections, visiting emergency rooms, and being admitted to the hospital. Many hospitals in 7 states including North Carolina have begun mask mandates for staff, patients and visitors and have reinstituted visitor restrictions. Visitors at Duke Hospital are encouraged to wear masks while seeing patients. Cape Fear Valley Health hospitals are requiring masks. Duke Health, UNC Health and WakeMed restrict young visitors from inpatient areas. Cases of the flu, in particular, and COVID-19 have been rising since Thanksgiving and are predicted to continue to grow during the remaining cold winter months. Hospitals are full of vulnerable patients with underlying health problems and staff that are at risk of getting severely ill with respiratory illness so these groups need to be protected from the high prevalence of respiratory viruses in the community.

According to the CDC, 31 states and Washington, DC, are at a high or very high level of respiratory illness activity. During the week ending on December 23^rd, hospital admissions have totaled more than 29 thousand patients with COVID-19, about 15 thousand with the flu, and thousands with RSV according to the CDC. The flu activity is rising. There are about 6500 deaths so far this season. Young children and older adults are more susceptible to get severely ill with RSV.

This is the time of year that respiratory illnesses like the flu, RSV and COVID-19 can affect us. People are indoors more because it is cold outside. Holiday travel and gatherings brought us together and created an opportunity for viruses to spread. The COVID pandemic has taught us how susceptible we are to respiratory viral illness and that preventive measures can reduce its spread and severity like wearing a face mask and getting vaccinated. The current flu vaccine matches up well with this year’s flu strain, further reducing the risk for vaccinated people to develop severe illness. Although, the number of cases is not overwhelming and not as severe as previous years, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert from Vanderbilt University, feels that this season is ”moderately severe.”

The CDC has created a website (at cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/index.html) with a county-by-county breakdown of the level of respiratory illness activity. This can be a guide in choosing the level of protection to reduce the risk of getting sick. North Carolina has very high respiratory illness activity based on healthcare visits for fever, cough or sore throat. The flu is increasing in Buncombe County based on emergency department visits. RSV and COVID-19 activity have been unchanged. The CDC urges eligible people to get vaccinated and to seek treatment if they test positive.

Low vaccination rates may contribute to the increase in cases in addition to cold weather and holiday gatherings. According to the latest CDC survey data, as of December 23^rd:

• About 44% of U.S. adults have gotten their annual fall flu shot
• About 19% of U.S. adults have received the updated fall COVID-19 shot
• About 17% of U.S. adults 60 years and older have been vaccinated against RSV

According to Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, “While there’s nothing unusual about what we’re seeing, the data still reflects an increase in illness and, as we know, masking will be helpful, regardless of the respiratory pathogen: RSV, COVID, flu, and the other respiratory pathogens that are circulating. So, it’s sort of a one size fits all strategy.”

Listen to the full report below:

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

ASHEVILLE, NC –  January 10, 2024 – Respiratory viral infections like COVID-19, influenza (the flu) and RSV can spread through holiday gatherings and travel. However, the COVID pandemic has made us aware that we can take steps to reduce spreading respiratory viruses. Therefore, persons who are more susceptible to getting sick like older adults and the immunocompromised have become more cautious.

The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard. For the week ending on December 30^th  

• Hospital admission levels are low in about 60% of the counties in North Carolina, including Buncombe County, and high in 5%. They are low in about half of the counties in the U.S. and high in about 10%. Admissions have increased in the U.S. by about 20% and in North Carolina by 30% and decreased in Buncombe County from the previous week.
• About 3.0% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 3^rd lowest level of 6 groups.
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are moderate in North Carolina. This represents about 4.0% of all ER visits, the 3^rd lowest of 5 levels and a moderate increase from the previous week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data for the week ending on December 20^th is on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard.

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a red level representing the highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 80^th and 100^th percentile relative to the past level measured at the same site.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has decreased from the previous week, at -99% to -10%, the lowest level of 2 groups for a negative rate of change.

The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on December 30^th indicates that levels are high and very high for every southern state from California to the East coast. North Carolina is at the highest of 13 levels.

For the week ending on December 30^th, the CDC reports that the 3-week average for the percent positivity for RSV PCR tests in North Carolina has climbed to more than 10% from November 4^th to December 16^th reaching a peak of almost 15% around Thanksgiving. The most recent report on the week of December 30^th shows that percent positivity is less than 7%.

The weekly North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard was last updated for the week ending on January 3^rd. Emergency room visits for people with respiratory virus symptoms increased by more than 20%. Hospital admissions continue to increase for both COVID and the flu. There were more admissions for the flu than COVID for each of the past 2 weeks.

Dr. Mandy Cohen, the CDC director, told Yahoo Life, if you are starting to feel sick with a cough, sore throat or fever: get tested, get treatment, and stay home.

Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells USA Today.com that COVID-19 cases should increase over the winter as they have the past 3 years. The risk of transmission can also increase during the upcoming holiday season when many people get together indoors.

There is a surge of respiratory disease as people spend more time indoors during the winter months and due to an increase in indoor gatherings and travel during the holidays. However, more and more Americans have developed some immunity from vaccination and previous infection. Therefore, we have to protect at-risk groups who remain susceptible to getting severely ill.

Listen to the full report below:

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]