CATES: Seasonal viral illnesses are here

By Carol A. Cates, MSN, MBA, RN 

Chief Nursing Officer 

Odessa Regional Medical Center

Yesterday, we had more people visit our emergency department in one day than I can ever remember in the more than 10 years I have been associated with this hospital. I have heard our neighboring hospital had the same, a very, very, busy day. Most of those people came in with upper respiratory symptoms, and like the rest of the nation and state, those symptoms are caused primarily by viral illness, much more than usual for this time of year.

Most of the viruses we are seeing are Flu, RSV, and COVID. After weeks of a drop in COVID cases, we are back up to high transmission levels in our community. RSV and flu bad enough to need hospitalization are so prevalent in kids right now, that the state is asking for hospitals to report the number of pediatric beds available every four hours. Even in the worst of the COVID pandemic we weren’t reporting beds that frequently to the state.

The amount of viral illness we are seeing worries me quite a bit, because if these diseases are hitting us this hard in late November, when we get to January and February, the traditional months when viral illness is at its worst, it’s likely to be really, really, bad. We could end up in the situation we had in the first few waves of the COVID pandemic where we have more patients that need hospital care than we have beds and staff to take care of them. That is not a place I ever want this community to ever be in again.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 33 states are now experiencing high or very high respiratory virus activity. Seasonal flu is elevated nationwide. During the week of November 13, 9.4% of deaths across the US were related to pneumonia, flu or COVID. The normal amount of respiratory illness leading to death for this time of year is about 6%. So far this year, 2,900 people have died from the flu and 53,000 have been hospitalized. Those numbers don’t include Thanksgiving week or the impact the holiday gatherings may have had in spreading respiratory illness. Even what we are seeing locally in the last few days is probably just the start of the Thanksgiving holiday impact.

I know vaccines, especially the mRNA COVID vaccines, have some controversy, but the flu vaccine has been around for a long time and is very well proven to be safe and effective. Even when people do get the flu after being vaccinated, for most, it’s a much shorter and less severe case of the flu than those who are unvaccinated experience. The COVID vaccine now comes in a non mRNA form thanks to the brilliant people down at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, so there are tried and true versions of that vaccine available now too.

Like with flu, even if you do get COVID after being vaccinated, the chances of it being a severe case are reduced significantly. RSV does have a vaccine, but it unfortunately is scarce and only the highest risk kids (premature babies, those with severe co-morbidities) can get that vaccination. I will always support people’s right to make their own health care decisions. Having said that, if you were my loved one, I would recommend vaccination if you can take them. Please talk to your primary health care provider and discuss vaccinations and boosters if you have not had them.

I am also asking is that if you are sick, even if its just the sniffles, stay away from others. If you can’t, please, wear a mask. Masks are cheap and readily available. In many of the more densely populated parts of the world, it is “good manners” to wear a mask when you have respiratory symptoms. I hope that is a trend that catches on here in the US. Because, despite the controversy, masks do slow the spread of viral illness. It might just be the sniffles for you, but your taking care to not spread a respiratory illness by staying away from others and/or masking could quite literally save someone else’s life.

Finally, wash your hands frequently, and if you cough or sneeze, use a tissue or the inside of your elbow to block, not your hands. That is our best defense not just against respiratory viral illness, but all illnesses. Hand washing is the best disease prevention tool ever invented.

If you do feel like you are sick and have been exposed to a viral illness, visit with your primary care provider as quickly as you can. Most of the viral illnesses now have some antiviral treatments available, but they need to be started within a few days of onset of symptoms to be most effective. If you do feel you need to visit the emergency room for treatment, please be patient if you are asked to wait, because in the emergency room, it’s not first come, first serve, it’s worst come, first serve. In an emergency department, it’s actually a good thing to have to wait.