How physicians can deal with the ‘tripledemic’ of COVID-19, RSV and influenza

Medical Economics sat down with Kalvin Yu, MD, FIDSA is Vice President Medical & Scientific Affairs, U.S. Region at BD, to discuss the "tripledemic" impacting the 2022 respiratory season, as the spread of influenza, COVID-19 and RSV create a season with unique challenges.

According to CDC records there have been at least 8.7 million illnesses, 78 000 hospitalizations, and 4500 fatalities caused by influenza since October, as of early December. Thanksgiving week also brought 2 new pediatric deaths, bringing fatalities among children thus far to 14.

COVID-19 hospitalizations have also begun to tick up. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), like influenza, appeared early this year and caused a surge of pediatric hospitalizations that overwhelmed capacity at children’s hospitals across the country.

Kalvin Yu, MD, FIDSA is Vice President Medical & Scientific Affairs, U.S. Region at BD. Kalvin has over 20 years of clinical inpatient and outpatient experience, research and hospital quality administration. Significant CMS/TJC preparation, pandemic planning, infection control and patient safety program execution in matrixed multi-hospital organizations. He is a former professor of global public health at NYU and graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine.