RSV

As we head into the holiday season and gather with family and friends, it’s also the time for respiratory diseases to hit their peak.

It’s that time of the year again and cases of winter respiratory illnesses are elevated across the country. In New Mexico, these diseases like RSV, COVID, and especially the flu are hitting hard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommendations on how best to protect yourself during the holiday season.

It’s that time of year again to prepare for several winter respiratory diseases that will be circulating in the next few months. The New Mexico Department of Health held a briefing Tuesday, about several new developments for vaccines in order to avoid the possibility a tripledemic.

Acting New Mexico Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase said at a briefing Thursday that the peak of the pediatric RSV surge may now be behind us, but the kids who do have it remain sicker than usual.

Three New Mexico counties – McKinley, Valencia and San Juan – have high community levels of COVID-19. That’s according to the latest CDC data accounting for hospitalization and case rates. But in terms of just the spread of the virus, all but one of New Mexico’s counties are bright red on the CDC map, showing the highest levels of transmission. KUNM’s Jered Ebenreck has this report. And the state’s surveillance tools for tracking the virus appear to be contracting or stalled.

Pediatric hospital units at New Mexico’s largest hospitals continue to fill due to an early surge of RSV and flu compounded by other viruses, including COVID. Health officials are not yet positive whether the early onset means the surge will also end sooner, but say it could peak in January and end in March.

Pediatric units across New Mexico are operating at or above capacity due to a simultaneous surge in COVID, flu and RSV, along with other viruses, among children. At a briefing Monday, representatives from the state’s largest hospital systems urged parents and guardians to practice prevention and at-home care when possible.

Nine New Mexico counties, including Bernalillo, have Medium community levels of COVID19 according to the latest CDC data. In contrast, the COVID transmission map that doesn’t include hospitalizations shows most of the upper half of the state shaded in red, or highest levels of COVID spread. Now the confluence of RSV, Flu, and COVID is filling up pediatric beds in hospitals.