CIDRAP: CDC revamps wastewater COVID data reporting. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently unveiled new wastewater data tracking dashboard to make it easier to track local and national trends, even by variant. Wastewater tracking is one of the early indicators health officials use to gauge the activity of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses.”
Route Fifty: ‘Tripledemic’ dashboards set health agencies up for flu season. “COVID, influenza and RSV—oh my! Fall and winter bring an increase in respiratory illnesses, so state health departments are revamping their COVID dashboards for enhanced insights into their communities’ health.”
KNDU: New respiratory illness dashboard launches to monitor numbers across Washington. “A new Respiratory Illness Data Dashboard from the Department of Health will allow Washington residents to track COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity by region across the state.”
New York Times: Why a Coronavirus-Flu ‘Twindemic’ May Never Happen. “The idea is that it wasn’t just masks, social distancing or other pandemic restrictions that caused flu and other respiratory viruses to fade while the coronavirus reigned, and to resurge as it receded. Rather, exposure to one respiratory virus may put the body’s immune defenses on high alert, barring other intruders from gaining entry into the airways.”
Bloomberg: People with Covid-19 and flu at greater risk of severe illness and death. “Adults in hospital with Covid-19 and the flu at the same time are at much greater risk of severe disease and death compared with patients who have Covid-19 alone or with other viruses, research has shown. Scientists found that patients who had both Sars-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, and influenza viruses were more than four times more likely to require ventilation support and 2.4 times more likely to die than if they just had Covid-19.”
New York Times: Shrugs Over Flu Signal Future Attitudes About Covid . “The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t prompted most Americans to take influenza more seriously. Instead, more people are likely to think of Covid the way they think of flu, experts say.”
Times of Israel: COVID-flu joint booster shot possible in late 2023, Moderna says. “Moderna aims to roll out a combined COVID-flu-RSV booster vaccine in late 2023, the US pharmaceutical firm says, hoping a joint shot will encourage people to get an annual vaccination.”
KDKA: Hospitals Seeing Uptick In ‘Flurona’ Cases, A Double Infection Of COVID And The Flu. “According to the World Health Organization, symptoms include cough, fever, sore throat, muscle aches, and fatigue. Israel confirmed its first case of the so-called ‘Flurona’ last Thursday. It was identified in an unvaccinated pregnant woman. She was later released and is now in good condition.”
ABS-CBN News: ‘Flurona’: COVID, flu co-infections not unusual, expert says. “A co-infection with the influenza virus and coronavirus is not unusual, a health specialist said Monday, after Israel reported its first case of the ‘flurona’ infection in a pregnant woman.”
Inside Edition: Flu Season Makes Comeback After Unusual Year Off Due to COVID-19. “The flu virus, after being subsumed by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, has made an unwelcome comeback, according to health officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported some 2,500 nationwide influenza cases from clinical tests for the week ending Dec. 11. Though that figure isn’t unusual for this time of year, it also represents a number not seen since the coronavirus pandemic erupted.”
CNN: Do you have a cold, the flu or Covid-19? Experts explain how to tell the difference. “Do you have a sore throat, a runny nose and muscle aches? It could be a common cold, a case of the flu — or Covid-19. The illnesses all share similar symptoms, sometimes making it hard to distinguish which is putting you under the weather.”
State of Michigan: MDHHS will issue face mask advisory for the holiday season due to rise in cases of flu and COVID-19. “With the increasing rise in COVID-19 and flu cases, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will be issuing a face mask advisory and offering guidance to keep loved ones safe and prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses during the holidays. MDHHS will issue a Public Health Advisory that recommends everyone over the age of 2 should wear a face mask at indoor gatherings regardless of their vaccination status. In addition, establishments should implement a policy to ensure that all persons entering or seeking services, including employees, wear a mask. This face mask advisory will remain effect until further notice.”
CNN: Flu shots uptake is now partisan. It didn’t use to be. “Uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine has, unfortunately, become partisan like so much else in our society. Almost every Democratic adult (90% to 95%) has gotten a shot, while a little less than two-thirds of Republican adults have. That partisanship appears to have transferred to at least one other important vaccination. An examination of flu shot data suggests that which party people belong to is highly correlated with whether they have or will get a flu shot this season — something that was not predictive of flu shot uptake the last few years.”
New York Times: A study finds no signs of trouble in getting flu and Covid shots at the same time.. “A British clinical trial found no sign of danger in getting a flu shot and a second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine at the same time, results that support the advice of U.S. health authorities and are welcome news for strained health care workers as flu season hits.”
Reuters: Moderna developing single-dose booster shot for COVID-19 and flu. ” Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) said on Thursday it was developing a single-dose vaccine that combines a booster dose against COVID-19 and a booster against flu.”
