U.S. could face “tripledemic” amid exodus of health care workers

The U.S. could very well face what has been dubbed a “tripledemic” this winter, with cases of COVID-19, the flu and a virus called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) surging at the same time. 
Cases of RSV are rising quickly in young children, who typically contract the virus by the time they’re three, but who were shielded from it and other viruses during lockdown periods. 
“Pediatric ICUs around the country, many parts of it, are full,” said CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus. Most hospitalizations now are related to influenza and RSV, not COVID-19, he added.  
The simultaneous increase in cases of three distinct viruses comes as more professionals are leaving the health care field for work that either pays better or is less physically and emotionally draining, which could further threaten the nation’s strained health care system.
“I’m concerned that hospitals, health care providers are going to be overwhelmed,” said CBS News medical contributor and Kaiser Health News editor-at-large Dr. Celine Gounder. “We’re looking at very high rates of both flu and RSV, so probably something around like 35,000 hospitalizations per week just from those two conditions.”

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