(Washington Comprehensive Report) Many regions in the United States are facing the “triple epidemic” of the new crown disease, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Many cities and counties, such as New York City and Los Angeles County, encourage people to wear masks in indoor public places.
The New York Times reported that in the past two weeks, the number of coronavirus cases in the United States has soared by 56%, and the number of hospitalizations has increased by 24%.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that flu has sickened 13 million people and killed 7,300 this season, and those numbers are expected to rise in the coming months
The CDC’s recommendation is to decide whether to require people to wear masks based on the community’s level of new crown disease in each county, including the number of new crown disease-related hospital admissions, hospital beds and case numbers.
However, CDC Director Valensky recently pointed out that the authorities encourage everyone to “wear appropriate high-quality masks to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases,” especially when using public transportation and flying.
Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University in the United States, pointed out that the transmission rates of coronavirus, influenza and RSV are more or less different across the United States, but in fact the whole country is affected by these disease outbreaks. People in high-risk groups such as the elderly over 65 years old, pregnant women, and people with chronic diseases “re-wear masks” in public places.
“The pandemic has shown us that flu, cold viruses and RSV have all been significantly suppressed because of our personal efforts in terms of social distancing and wearing masks,” Schaffner said.
Helen Zhu, an expert on sensitivity and infectious diseases at Seattle University, suggested that everyone should wear masks when the infection rate and hospitalization rate are high.
She pointed out that many hospital beds are close to capacity and that anything that can slow the spread of respiratory diseases is helpful.
High-quality masks such as N95, KN95 or KF94 masks are more effective in providing protection, and other public health measures such as frequent hand washing, sanitizing surfaces such as tabletops, and filtering indoor air are also important to limit respiratory diseases.
The White House and the CDC have also emphasized the importance of vaccinations and called on those who have not yet received the flu vaccine and the latest COVID-19 supplement to get vaccinated.
Government spends nearly $2 billion on additional Pfizer oral drugs
On the other hand, the U.S. government agreed to purchase an additional 3.7 million packs of the oral coronavirus drug Paxlovid from drugmaker Pfizer for nearly US$2 billion (S$2.7 billion).
Pfizer issued a statement on Tuesday (December 14) saying that the United States previously purchased 20 million packs of Paxlovid, and this replenishment is expected to be delivered in early 2023.
As of November 30, Pfizer has delivered nearly 37 million packs of Paxlovid oral medicine to 52 countries around the world.