By Kalvin Yu, MD, FIDSA, Vice President of U.S. Medical Affairs and Vikas Gupta, Pharm.D., Director of Medical Affairs

In our sixth weekly snapshot of viral infections across the U.S, we present data through mid-December. In our last blog, we reported that hospital discharges for flu and COVID-19 were equal. We are now seeing higher rates of COVID-19 discharges– as flu discharges have decreased. Meanwhile, hospital discharges for RSV continue to decline.

Here is what our discharge data show through December 17:

COVID-19

Hospital discharges for COVID-19 have increased to 4.0/100 discharges – the highest rate that we have seen since earlier in the summer. Our data aligns with recent comments from Ashish Jha, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, urging Americans to receive the updated COVID-19 booster following the uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations post-Thanksgiving.

FLU

Hospital discharges for flu decreased slightly to 2.9/100 discharges (compared to 3.7/100 discharges in our last blog). As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu activity decreased recently after an unusually early surge. However, it will be important to continue monitoring flu activity after the holiday season – as more people travel and gather indoors.

RSV

The RSV hospital discharge rate has dropped to 0.7/100 hospital discharges. Throughout November and early December, the discharge rate remained steady around 1.0/100 hospital discharges. This is the first time in our blog series that we have reported a rate below that threshold.

About BD Infectious Disease Insights
Emerging infectious diseases have been increasing in frequency during the past few decades. None have assessed the U.S. health care system’s capacity or resiliency like COVID-19 – forever changing the way that we think about future outbreaks and how we manage the related unintended consequences. The BD Infectious Disease Insights series investigates today’s most prominent infectious disease trends. The series leverages the depth and breadth of our data to serve as an ongoing bellwether on the state of infectious diseases in the U.S., backed by clinical insights on how to increase overall awareness and preparedness