by Dakota Sherek

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Local hospitals are dealing with a trio of viruses this fall, but there are preventive measures people can take to curb the spread.

While fall typically marks the start of flu season, health officials are also dealing with COVID-19 and Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) this year.

Dr. Emily Volk, Chief Medical Officer at Baptist Health Floyd, said hospitals are seeing an uptick of patients with the flu or RSV.

Most people recover from RSV in a week or so, but the respiratory virus can be serious for infants and older adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children less than a year old.

Norton Children’s Hospital reported more than 200 RSV cases in early October, and two weeks later another 312 RSV cases were reported across the entire system.

“Seeing some RSV in the fall is not totally unusual,” Volk said. “The fact that we’ve got kids back at school at a rate we haven’t seen since 2019, before the pandemic, may be playing into this increase in RSV.”

Charlotte Ipsen, Chief Hospital Officer for Norton Healthcare, says health care workers haven’t dealt with a “true combination” of COVID-19, the flu and RSV before.

“We’re seeing an already busy hospital even busier,” Ipsen said.

COVID-19 vaccination protects adults against severe illness from the virus, including hospitalizations and death. The CDC reported rates were 12 times higher among adults who were unvaccinated compared to adults who received a booster or additional doses.

The more people who receive vaccinations, the less of a burden hospitals have to bear.

“The more people who get the flu vaccine, the COVID-19 Bivalent booster, the fewer patients will need to come into the hospital for care,” Volk said.

Volk encourages people who aren’t fully immunized to get vaccinated for protection against a variety of viruses.

“We are seeing signs of polio back in the United States,” Volk said. “These diseases that we thought were gone forever, it turns out they’re not. These immunizations we took for granted, are still very effective and keep you from dying from these diseases.”

Health officials say social distancing and masking are important to help curb the spread of viruses, and when someone doesn’t feel well, to stay home.

“The first thing is, folks should not be going to work or school when they’re sick,” Volk said. “If they must go to school or work sick, at the very least wear a mask and do your best to distance.”

To see where you can get a COVID-19 shot, click here. To see where you can get a flu shot, click here.

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