Health experts are warning of a 'tripledemic' as several viruses surge ahead of winter months

Hospital systems and healthcare workers have been stressed since the beginning of the pandemic, first with high patient populations and then with critical staffing shortages.

As COVID-19 hospitalizations have significantly dropped, you might imagine we're beyond that hospital strain. We're not.

As the weather turns colder and we spend more time indoors, health experts warn we may be facing a tripledemic this winter.

Early data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventing tell us this could be the worst flu season in more than a decade as flu cases are higher than they typically are this time of year.

And RSV already is taxing children's hospitals locally and across the country.
 
RSV, which affects mostly children and results in cold-like symptoms, has been surging for months. Cases began to climb in the summer, months before the usual cold weather up-tick. Part of that might be due to the pandemic isolation many babies experienced. They haven't been exposed to viruses like this.

So how worried should we be about this convergence of infectious diseases? Are vaccines effective? Is it time to mask indoors again?

We'll kick off today's program by discussing what some are calling the tripledemic with local doctors who can answer your questions.

Later in the hour, we'll preview a conference organized by the National Congress of Black Women's Greater Cleveland Chapter.

- Christine Alexander MD, Department Chair of Family Medicine, MetroHealth

- Claudia Hoyen MD, Director, Pediatric Infection Control, University Hospitals Rainbow Baby and Children’s

- Yvonne Conwell, Cuyahoga County Councilwoman, District 7

- Sherdina Williams, Conference Chair and the Health Committee chair, National Congress of Black Women Greater Cleveland Chapter