Health

(ATLANTA) — While respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, has been surging among children in the United States, older adults are being affected as well.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that senior citizens are being hospitalized with the virus at this point in the season at a rate much higher than seen in seasons past.

As of the week ending Nov. 5, the latest date for which data is available, adults aged 65 and older are being hospitalized at a weekly rate of 1.6 per 100,000.

Although the raw number might seem small, it is much higher than usually seen at this time of year. CDC data going back to the 2014-15 season shows the rate has never been higher than 1.0 per 100,000 in early November.

“Overall, it’s very striking that we’re seeing this level of RSV than we normally see across age groups,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor. “While there’s a lot of focus on the pediatric impact, we know RSV affects all vulnerable groups, including the elderly population.”

“The hospitalizations numbers are greater than anything we’ve seen in the past nine seasons,” he added.

An increase in respiratory viruses, including RSV, has been flooding pediatric hospitals and causing schools to shut down to stem the spread.

Public health experts told ABC News the early rise in cases is due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last two years, children have been staying home from school, wearing masks and practicing social distancing, which has led to low RSV activity.

Now, with most pandemic measures relaxed, RSV is infecting both children who were born during the pandemic or primarily stayed home during the pandemic.

However, as more kids get exposed, so do more adults.

“Now all the children are back in school, they’re going to birthday parties, they’re playing with each other and we’re having a very early surge in RSV all over the country,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told ABC News. “They’re bringing it home and they’re giving it to grandparents, Aunt Susie, Uncle Frank and other adults who have underlying illnesses and it’s those adults who sometimes get illness severe enough to require hospitalization.”

He continued, “So the adults are part of this surge that has been described mostly in terms of its impact on children in pediatric hospitals.”

Adults with RSV typically experience the same symptoms as children including coughing, wheezing, fever, running nose, sneezing and decrease in appetite, according to the CDC.

While most cases can resolve with resting at home, drinking fluids and managing pain and fever, some adults are at higher risk of severe illness.

“First of all, advanced age, anybody over age 65, and of course, the older you are, the more likely you are to get severe illness,” Schaffner said. “Second, underlying illness, particularly of the lung, and heart. So, if you have underlying lung disease or heart disease, those are the circumstances that put you at increased risk of getting more severe RSV infection that will impair your capacity to breathe and will require hospitalization.”

There are currently no vaccines available that protect against RSV, although several are undergoing clinical trials, and some may undergo review from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In the meantime, the experts recommend following similar mitigation measures followed during the pandemic.

“It’s vaccinating against flu and COVID, it’s masking, it’s social distancing, it’s staying home when sick,” Brownstein said. “It’s the same non-pharmaceutical interventions we’ve been promoting during COVID.”

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(ATLANTA) — A judge on Tuesday overturned Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, ruling that it is not constitutional.

The so-called “heartbeat bill” was signed into law in 2019 by Gov. Brian Kemp but was prevented from going into effect following legal challenges.

In July, three weeks after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion, a federal appeals court ruled the ban could go into effect.

The law prevents abortions from performed once fetal cardiac activity can be defected, which typically occurs at about six weeks’ gestation — before many women know they’re pregnant — and redefines the word “person” in Georgia to include an embryo or fetus at any stage of development.

Several groups — including the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Georgia, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective — filed a lawsuit arguing the ban violates the right to privacy without political inference protected under the Georgia Constitution.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney agreed and said it went against the law because the ban was signed before Roe was overturned.

“At that time — the spring of 2019 — everywhere in America, including Georgia, it was unequivocally unconstitutional for governments — federal, state, or local — to ban abortions before viability,” McBurney wrote, referring to the original passage of the 6-week ban.

ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett and Ben Stein contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — People who smoke marijuana were more likely to have certain types of lung damage than people who smoked cigarettes, according to a new study that reviewed lung scans of smokers. The researchers who led the study say their findings suggest smoking marijuana may be more harmful than people realize.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates at least one-fifth of Americans have tried marijuana at least once. With more states legalizing the drug, it has become the most commonly used drug that is still illegal at a federal level.

Some health effects, such as brain development issues, high blood pressure, and increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, have been studied. However, according to Dr. Albert Rizzo, lung doctor and chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, “We don’t know the long-term effects of marijuana as we do for the long-term effects of tobacco.”

Researchers from Ottawa Hospital General in Canada compared approximately 150 lung scans from marijuana smokers, tobacco-only smokers and nonsmokers. The study found that rates of emphysema, airway inflammation and enlarged breast tissue were higher in marijuana than in tobacco smokers.

The scans showed that 75% of the marijuana smokers had emphysema. Slightly less than 70% of tobacco-only smokers had emphysema, while only 5% of nonsmokers had it.

Emphysema, a form of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), is the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

“There are air sacs in your lungs that are getting bigger than they should. As they get bigger, they are less efficient than they should be for gas exchange,” Rizzo said. The condition is caused by long-term exposure to irritants such as smoke, leading to irreversible lung damage.

“Marijuana smokers had more emphysema, a disease that causes difficulty breathing, than heavy tobacco smokers and nonsmokers,” said Dr. Giselle Revah, study co-author and cardiothoracic radiologist.

Doctors say there are several reasons marijuana might cause more lung damage than tobacco.

“Marijuana smokers breathe in more deeply, and they hold their breath longer, before they exhale. You combine the irritating effect of longer exposure and deeper inhalation of these toxins,” Rizzo said.

Tobacco smoke is also filtered, but marijuana smoke is not. All of these factors contribute to inflammation and irreversible damage, doctors say.

“Anything you inhale that could irritate the lungs would not be advisable, so I would recommend they stop,” Rizzo said. However, he recognizes that some users have medical necessity — for those individuals, he recommends a discussion with your doctor, who may be able to convert you to another, safer form of the drug, such as an ingestible form.

“There is a public perception that marijuana is safe. This study signals that marijuana could be more harmful than people realize,” Revah said.

Alicia Zellmer, M.D., and Joy Liu, M.D., are resident physicians in Internal Medicine and members of the ABC News Medical Unit.

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(NEW YORK) — A Washington state mother is warning about the dangers of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, after her 7-month-old daughter was hospitalized with the illness.

Mya Walker said her daughter, Ariella Rain, was a happy, healthy baby until the end of October, when she started developing symptoms of RSV.

“She had a cough for like a day and usually she typically was coughing after she ate her bottle so I wasn’t really worried about it,” Walker told ABC News. “And then I was at work and her grandma actually took her temperature and it came back 102 F. So that’s when we took her to the emergency room.”

Ariella was taken to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center in Vancouver on Oct. 28, where she was diagnosed with RSV.

Across the United States, cases of RSV have been appearing earlier this year than usual and are on the rise. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13,126 infections were diagnosed in September 2022 — which rose to 47,910 for the month of October.

According to the CDC, other symptoms can include runny nose, sneezing, wheezing and a decrease in appetite.

RSV is especially dangerous among infants and babies, with an estimated 58,000 to 80,000 children under age 5 being hospitalized with the virus, the CDC said.

However, some are at an even greater risk of severe illness, including those born prematurely, immunocompromised children and those suffering from congenital heart and lung diseases.

Ariella was born prematurely on March 24, at 30 weeks, via emergency C-section weighing one pound, five ounces because she was not thriving inside the womb, according to Walker.

She also has pulmonary vein stenosis, a rare condition in which the blood vessels that bring blood from the lungs to the heart are too narrow or even blocked.

However, Walker said that despite Ariella’s medical conditions, she was thriving and hitting her developmental milestones.

“Outside of her sickness, she was pretty much just a normal baby, always laughing and kicking her feet,” Walker said.

However, not long after Ariella was admitted to the hospital, she was transferred to Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, where she is currently in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Walker said Ariella’s lungs have been so greatly affected by RSV that she developed bronchitis, or inflammation of her airways. She has since been on a ventilator and even had to be put on an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine.

The machine pumps a patient’s blood outside the body, oxygenates it and then sends it back into the bloodstream, which allows the heart and lungs to rest.

Walker said the past several days have been very difficult. She has been at the hospital every day with Ariella while her partner stays home with their 5-year-old daughter.

Walker said the hospital is not allowing child visitors so her older daughter can’t visit Ariella.

“It’s been really hard on her sister because her sister loves [Ariella] so much and wants to see her but she’s not able to come up here and see her,” she said.

On Nov. 2, Ariella went into respiratory arrest, which is when a person stops breathing, and had to have CPR performed on her as well as intubation.

“It was the scariest [moment of my life],” Walker said. “I never want to see my child get CPR ever again. It was so scary. I lost it.”

Although Ariella has since been taken off the ECMO machine, Walker said she has a long way to go before she’s close to recovering. She said she wants to warn other families about the dangers of RSV and to make sure they receive medical attention if they notice a change in behavior.

“My main message is to warn families of this RSV, and this season is really, really bad,” she said. “So just really pay attention to your child’s behavior, because my daughter, she was just learning how to laugh and the next day she was critically ill.”

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(NEW YORK) — Weekly flu cases, hospitalizations and deaths have nearly doubled for the second week in a row, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So far this season, there have been at least 2.8 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations and 1,300 deaths from influenza.

By comparison, the prior week’s estimates had illnesses at 1.6 million, hospitalizations at 13,000 and deaths at 730.

Additionally, the cumulative hospitalization rate currently sits at 5 per 100,000, which is the highest at this point in the season since the 2010-11 season, as far back as statistics are available.

What’s more, 6,465 new patients were admitted to hospital this past week with flu complications, according to the CDC, compared to 4,326 the previous week.

Fourteen states — mostly in the southeast and south-central regions of the U.S. — as well as New York City and Washington, D.C., are reporting “very high” levels of influenza-like activity.

Experts have stressed that getting the flu shot is the best way to protect Americans from severe illness and death, but vaccine uptake has been sluggish in comparison with previous flu seasons during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to CDC data, flu vaccination among children remains similar to last season but is lower than two years ago.

As of the week ending Oct. 22, the latest date for which data is available, 24.8% have been vaccinated against flu in comparison with 32.1% at this time in October 2020.

CDC data shows that flu vaccinations among pregnant women are much lower compared to previous seasons.

At the end of September, the latest date for which data is available, 21% of pregnant women were vaccinated against the flu. By comparison, 26.4% had been vaccinated by the end of September 2021 and 38% had been at the end of September 2020.

This is especially concerning because pregnant women are more likely to fall severely ill and die compared to women who are not pregnant.

Receiving a flu shot can lower a pregnant woman’s risk of being hospitalized from flu by around 40%, according to the CDC.

Additionally, a recent study jointly conducted by the CDC and the University of Auckland, in New Zealand, found that women who receive a flu vaccine have a lower risk of complications, including premature birth, low birthweight and stillbirth.

The newest data comes as the U.S. experiences a surge of respiratory illnesses, including respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed 78% of the estimated 40,000 pediatric hospital beds in the country are filled with patients — the highest figure recorded in two years.

ABC News’ Sony Salzman and Eric Strauss contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Although it’s still early in the flu season, hospitals around the country are seeing more and more cases of the virus, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting there were at least 2.8 million cases, 23,000 hospitalizations and 1,300 deaths as of last week.

The higher-than-usual increase in flu cases is stretching hospitals to capacity, many of which are already trying to manage a surge in RSV cases in children as well as address ongoing COVID-19 cases.

Flu, which is caused by influenza viruses, is a contagious illness. According to the CDC, anyone can get the flu and symptoms of the virus include body or muscle aches, a cough, fatigue, fever, headache, a runny or stuffy nose and sore throat. Diarrhea and vomiting may also occur but these symptoms tend to affect children more than adults. Those who are at higher risk of developing complications from the flu include older adults over the age of 65, individuals with chronic medical conditions, pregnant women and young children, especially those 2 and under.

Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, told “Good Morning America” that one of the best ways to protect against the flu and COVID-19 is to get vaccinated.

“We are seeing a resurgence of flu. We’re seeing COVID cases tick up. But the good news is we’ve got two highly effective vaccines and the most important thing people can do to protect themselves and their families this holiday season is to get those vaccines,” Jha said. “And we are ready. We’re ready to help hospitals if they’re overwhelmed if they need extra staffing. We’re ready to manage this flu and COVID season ahead.”

Individuals can choose to get both their flu and COVID vaccines at the same time or wait to space them out, according to guidance from the CDC.

“I got them both at the same time. Totally safe, totally reasonable to do that. That’s what I’ve been recommending,” Jha said. “Obviously, if you want to keep them apart, that’s fine, but I really think it’s totally safe and very effective to get them at the same time and then you’re just done.”

The vaccines are not 100% preventative but Jha said they are effective in protecting against serious illnesses.

“If you get this vaccine, it is still possible to get the flu. These vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection, but they are terrific at preventing serious illness. They’ll keep you out of the hospital. They’ll keep you out of the ICU and that’s what really matters,” he said.

Jha added that this year’s flu vaccine appears to be a good match to the dominant flu virus strain in circulation.

“It’s actually quite effective,” he said. “It is not every year but this year, it really looks like it’s a very good match.”

And for those who say they’re tired of getting yet another vaccine, Jha has this message: “It’s obviously been a tough two-and-a-half years. I think some people have gotten out of practice of getting their annual flu shot. What I remind people is we’ve been doing this for a long time. In the fall, we go out and get the flu vaccine. This year, add that COVID vaccine. If people do that, it’s a great way to make sure you have a safe and non-disruptive holiday season ahead.”

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(NEW YORK) — American biotechnology company Moderna announced Monday that a booster dose of its bivalent COVID-19 vaccine performs better against two circulating versions of the omicron variant, compared with a booster shot of its original formula.

The news echoes a similar announcement made earlier this month by American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, about their own bivalent booster shot.

In late August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized bivalent formulations of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for use as a single booster dose at least two months following primary or booster vaccination, designed to be a better match against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. Since then, more than 31 million Americans have received the updated booster shots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Each of the companies now have released data indicating their new formulations generate a superior antibody response against the current omicron subvariants.

According to a press release, new data from a Phase 2-3 clinical trial shows Moderna’s bivalent vaccine triggered antibody responses against the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants that were on average 15.1-fold higher, compared with the company’s prototype vaccine, when measured in adults approximately nine and a half months after prior vaccination. The safety and tolerability profile of the bivalent booster remains similar to the original vaccine, with adverse events “generally lower than the second dose of the primary series,” Moderna said.

The company noted that a preliminary analysis suggests its bivalent booster showed “neutralizing activity” against a descendant of BA.5 called BQ.1.1, which comprises a growing portion of COVID-19 cases. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel praised the data in a statement, saying it confirms “that updated vaccines have the potential to offer protection as the virus continues to evolve rapidly to escape our immunity.”

Moderna’s analysis, as described in the press release, has not been vetted through the normal scientific review process.

Smaller independent studies by outside scientists suggest there is little difference between antibody responses produced by the original and updated formulas of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, though both boosted antibody protection.

All of these studies are conducted by taking blood samples from recently vaccinated participants and measuring antibodies in a laboratory. They give us a hint of how well the vaccines might work but do not tell the full story of their effectiveness. Vaccines are still expected to offer a high level of protection against severe illness.

Once the dominant viral strain, the BA.5 subvariant is now estimated to account for about 30% of all new COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to the CDC. Newer versions of the omicron variant, such as BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, are slowly overtaking as a proportion of estimated cases, at 20% and 24%, respectively. These subvariants are descendants of BA.5.

The current COVID-19 situation in the U.S. is relatively stable, with cases rising slightly as hospitalizations and deaths remain comparatively consistent.

As the world nears its third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the virus continues to evolve, booster shots are expected to bolster protection against severe illness but not necessarily mild or asymptomatic breakthrough infections.

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(NEW YORK) — A Michigan pediatric hospital is reporting it is completely full due to a surge of cases linked to respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor — which is about 44 miles west of Detroit — said it has seen 259 children sick with RSV this season, a 46% spike from the same number seen this time last year.

Hospital officials said they are worried that this surge — coupled with an earlier flu season and a potential new COVID-19 wave — could put more stress on the health care system.

“We have been 100% full, I think we’re going on our sixth week, and RSV seems to have emerged earlier this year and in higher numbers this year,” Luanne Thomas Ewald, chief operating officer at Mott Children’s Hospital, told ABC News. “And the fact that we’re already full is concerning to us because we’re just starting to see flu in our emergency room.”

She continued, “Some reports have told us that we will also see an increase in COVID in kids during this flu season. So we haven’t really even seen the full impacts of the flu and COVID — and we’re already at capacity.”

The situation in Michigan is just the latest example of some hospitals across the country reporting they have reached capacity due to a high number of RSV cases.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, weekly RSV cases nationwide have risen from 5,872 the week ending Oct. 1 to 8,597 the week ending Nov. 5.

In Michigan, the 5-week average of positive RSV tests has increased from 95.7 the week ending Oct. 1 to 257 the week ending Oct. 29, the latest date for which CDC data is available.

Because of this, officials say wait times in the emergency department at Mott Children’s Hospital are much longer than usual.

To ease the burden on emergency room staff, Ewald said she and other hospital officials are asking parents to call their children’s primary care physician first to determine whether they need such treatment.

“Most pediatricians can diagnose RSV and can treat RSV, and most kids recover really, really well with rest and hydration,” Ewald said. “We’re really trying to tell the community throughout the state of Michigan, please partner with your pediatrician. Let’s use our urgent cares as well and only come to the emergency room when absolutely necessary.”

Although it’s rare, between 100 and 500 pediatric deaths occur from RSV every year, according to the CDC. Deaths among children from RSV have already been reported in states including Michigan and Virginia.

Ewald said the hospital is working to increase capacity by treating children in rooms traditionally used to draw blood and in stretchers lined up in the hallway, and they’re doubling up stretchers in private rooms. The hospital is also looking at transferring patients to local medical centers.

“We are working very closely with our community hospitals. Some of our community hospitals do have some pediatric beds available,” Ewald said. “So we’re really trying to take a statewide approach to make sure we’re taking care of these kids in our state.”

She also encouraged parents to make sure their children are up to date on their flu and COVID-19 vaccines, practice good hand hygiene and to consider masking indoors.

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(LONDON) — The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that there has been a 90% drop in global COVID-19 deaths since February, which he called a “cause for optimism” but still urged “caution” amid the ongoing pandemic.

“Just over 9,400 COVID-19 deaths were reported to WHO last week — almost 90% less than in February of this year, when weekly deaths topped 75,000,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a virtual press briefing from the U.N. agency’s Geneva headquarters.

“We have come a long way, and this is definitely cause for optimism, but we continue to call on all governments, communities and individuals to remain vigilant,” he added. “Almost 10,000 deaths a week is 10,000 too many, for a disease that can be prevented and treated.”

Tedros warned that COVID-19 testing and sequencing rates remain low globally, vaccination gaps between wealthy and poor nations are still wide and “concerning” new variants continue to proliferate.

“WHO continues to urge caution, and we continue to urge everyone to be fully vaccinated — including getting your next dose if it’s due,” he said.

A novel coronavirus now known as SARS-CoV-2 was first identified from an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, quickly spread around the globe, prompting the WHO to declare a pandemic in March 2020.

So far, more than 634 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide and over 6.6 million people have died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The highly contagious omicron variant and its fast-spreading subvariant BA.5 are currently the dominant versions of the virus globally, according to the WHO.

A number of vaccines against COVID-19 have been developed and approved around the world, including new bivalent booster shots that target omicron subvariants. More than 12.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins data.

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(KANSAS CITY) — An elementary school in Kansas City, Kansas, has become one of the latest to temporarily close due to a surge in respiratory illnesses among students and staff.

Christ the King Catholic School closed for three days starting Wednesday “due to illness,” including flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), the school announced this week.

“With the high number of positive Influenza A and RSV cases among our faculty, staff, and students, we will be disinfecting the building as well,” the school said on social media on Tuesday. “Please pray for the health of our CTK community.”

School officials told ABC Kansas City, Missouri, affiliate KMBC-TV that out of 250 students, 50 to 60 were out sick. Seven of the school’s 21 teachers also have the flu, RSV or COVID-19, the station reported.

“Just anticipating that it would continue to spread this week, we went ahead and called it so that we could also disinfect the building,” Principal Cathy Fithian told KMBC.

A shortage of faculty also factored into the decision.

“If you can’t staff your building and have teachers in the classrooms, you just can’t have school,” she told KMBC.

The school did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

The closure comes as the region is seeing a surge in pediatric emergency department visits for flu-like symptoms, including RSV. The common respiratory virus typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms, though can be serious for some, especially infants and older adults.

Overland Park Regional Medical Center said it has seen a 100% increase in patients coming into the pediatric emergency department since school started for seasonal illnesses such as bronchiolitis, which is most commonly caused by RSV, and flu.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows an increase in confirmed RSV cases for the Midwest region, which includes Kansas and Missouri, starting in September.

Nationwide, RSV cases have risen from 2,191 cases for the week ending Sept. 3 to 13,759 for the week ending Oct. 29, CDC data shows.

According to the CDC, respiratory illnesses are appearing earlier, and in more people, than is typical.

Doctors have warned that Americans may face a “tripledemic” this year, with rising RSV cases alongside the spread of COVID-19 and the flu this fall and winter.

Children are likely being exposed to viruses now that pandemic restrictions such as masking, social distancing and lockdowns have been mostly lifted, public health experts say.

School districts in several states have also been impacted by illness this school year.

In Kentucky, all Fayette County Public Schools closed on Monday “because of widespread illness among students and staff,” the district said. In North Carolina, Jackson County Public Schools were also closed on Monday “as a result of illness and staffing concerns.”

In Alabama, public schools in Marshall County went remote this week due to an increase in flu cases among students and staff.

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