The flu, COVID, and RSV are driving respiratory-illness activity up nationwide.

Welcome to sick season.

According to the CDC, New York City — along with New Jersey and at least 16 other states — is now experiencing “high” to “very high” levels of respiratory-illness activity as measured by the number of weekly visits to health-care providers and emergency rooms by people having symptoms of fever, cough, and sore throat.

The culprits are the usual suspects: this year’s strains of influenza, COVID, and RSV. And though flulike-illness levels have been above baseline nationally for several consecutive weeks, the CDC warns that we still haven’t hit the peak.

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As always, seniors remain the most at-risk demographic for severe outcomes from respiratory illnesses, which is why the low vaccination rates for that group remain troubling.

Beyond vaccination, for everyone, the best way to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses like the flu and RSV is regular handwashing; avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; and staying home if you get sick. High-filtration face masks still work great, too, and not just for avoiding COVID.

  • @ThisOneEnglish
    6•11 months ago

    Ehhh he’s fairly spot on. When I didn’t have insurance I had to go to the ER or try to find a doc that would write a prescription “under the table” - which never went well. No urgent care would see me.

    Now that I have insurance I’ve only been to the ER for a real emergency once.

    Still going to the ER with insurance wiped out my savings though, so I don’t really see all that much difference.

    • @RaoulDookEnglish
      -1•11 months ago

      Well it sounds like y’all are living in terrible places and you should move.

      I live in one of the poorest parts of the USA, and have spent decades in poverty myself. During my terms in poverty I usually had no health insurance also, and I got all the medical care I needed by going to normal doctors, none of which ever turned me away for not having insurance.

      So I have literally never encountered any medical facility that turns away patients for not having insurance. That would amount to a criminal action IMO and should be cause for a complaint to the state’s medical board should you encounter that again.