California continues to see high rates of COVID-19, flu, RSV
California is continuing to see steep infection rates of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus this year with concerns that the worse is yet to come.
During a virtual conference call Tuesday, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly provided the latest statewide infection numbers and said that the focus is no longer just on young children, who were heading to hospitals at high rates due to surging RSV infections. Now children and adults, especially older Californians, are feeling the impacts of this season's triple virus storm.
COVID-19 rates have increased significantly, but numbers continue to be an undercount due to over-the-counter at-home tests that do not get reported to health officials, Ghaly said. Test positivity is at nearly 11%, approximately twice the rate seen last month, and wastewater surveillance also shows increasing activity.
Flu has also been increasing in the state over the last several weeks, with activity in California labeled as "very high," according to data from the week ending Nov. 26 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Activity in the lower southern region, which includes San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties, has also been higher than elsewhere in the state, according to California Department of Public Health data ending the week of Nov. 26. The majority of cases detected are influenza A.
RSV continues to impact the state's youngest residents, although numbers have plateaued, Ghaly noted. More than a month ago, RSV test positivity was around 35% among children's hospitals and health centers. The most recent data shows that test positivity is in the low 20% range.
"Taken separately, these infections are manageable, but when all come together, the difficulty posed for the system is pretty extreme, and we're seeing that now," Ghaly said.
There are roughly 6,000 hospital admissions for both COVID-19 and flu in California, Ghaly said, and the state anticipates admissions to rise to 10,000 toward the end of the year and in early January.
"In terms of hospital burden, we're concerned," Ghaly said. "We know that the census statewide is about 22% above the baseline and fast approaching what we saw earlier this year with the omicron surge."
California is preparing for that influx by having conversations with hospitals about "how we support having the staff needed to take care of individuals," he added.
The coming weeks will likely bring even more infections as people travel and gather indoors for the upcoming holidays, but there are steps Californians can take to better protect themselves, such as staying up-to-date on COVID-19 and flu vaccines, wearing masks and staying home when sick. The state health secretary also emphasized that people can have multiple infections at once that can put "such a strain on one's immune system," making it even more important for people to take preventative measures.
The Centers for Disease Control Prevention on Monday also encouraged people to wear masks to help reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses. There is no mask mandate at the state level, nor are there conversations taking place to reinstate a mandate, Ghaly said, but he also encouraged Californians to wear masks to protect themselves and others.
Those who do fall ill have a few treatment options available to them, such as Tamiflu for flu infections and Paxlovid for COVID-19.
"This is work that I think we all can and should take personal. Every Californian has their part to do, but when you take it all together, there's a lot we can do to keep our health system as healthy and capable as possible as we get through a challenging winter virus season."
Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California continues to see high rates of COVID-19, flu, RSV cases
