Editor:
Amidst the mistletoe, gifts, Christmas songs and gingerbread houses, Berks County experienced a surge in the confluence of the big three respiratory viruses (COVID, Influenza and RSV) this holiday season.
On Dec. 29 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that respiratory illness causing people to seek health care was increasing across most of the country.
Working in the hospital during the holidays, I observed that emergency room visits and same-day sick visits associated with flu-like symptoms appeared higher than at other times.
As people who attended holiday parties, traveled through busy airports and wined and dined with friends and families cheerfully unmasked return to their office and daily business, lessons learned from three years of a pandemic should not be forgotten.
In the last three years, we became a society that paid attention to respiratory protection, hand washing and reasonable social distancing. Even though the World Health Organization has declared the pandemic over, in order to prevent surges these should not be overlooked.
Staying home at the slightest indication of being sick, wearing a mask when needed, hand washing and vaccination are tools in defense against spreading illness.
If we abide by these public health strategies, we can avert another spike in illness, reduce the volume of patients and prevent a “tripledemic” of the flu, RSV and COVID this season and even in 11 months when the Christmas lights are lit again this year.
Olawale Adeyemi, MD
Wyomissing
Editor’s note, Adeyemi is a family medicine physician.
Source: Berkshire mont
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