NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The colder months typically bring on a variety of illnesses, but Connecticut hospitals are particularly concerned about this coming winter because a series of viruses have become prominent earlier than usual.
The triple threat Connecticut hospitals expect to be facing this winter includes respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the flu and COVID.
"The biggest concern is that this winter if we do have a COVID surge, which a lot of us are anticipating, that all three viruses at once can really strain the resources of our health care system," said Dr. Scott Roberts, Associate Director of Infection Prevention for Yale New Haven Hospital.
There have been discussions, especially by some hospitals of constructing field hospitals similar to the ones built for COVID in 2020.
"Right now we don't have plans to have a field hospital, but we are calling in additional doctors and nurses to help out," Roberts said.
RSV, he notes, is a common cold virus that hits the pediatric population very hard, but this year, it's been worse because kids are just getting back together in large groups.
"My own kids are a great example," Roberts said. "We've really isolated since the beginning of the pandemic and then this year we brought them back to school and daycare and almost immediately we all got RSV."
Doctors of course recommend that those eligible receive flu and COVID vaccines to help avoid hospitalizations. But, some have concerns about receiving a COVID jab.
"Young men in particular can, but rarely, develop a side effect from the COVID mRNA vaccines, the Moderna and Pfizer, which leads to heart inflammation," Roberts said.
But, he added, in the vast majority of these cases, the inflammation is mild and resolves on its own.
"And it's actually lower than the rate that COVID causes heart inflammation."
Dr. Roberts said an uptick in COVID cases beginning in several weeks is expected and that the flu season will like be more typical of where it was prior to the pandemic.
Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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