HOUSTON — Last week, Americans gathered for Thanksgiving amid a flu season that’s worse than it’s ever been in more than a decade. Now health officials are bracing for what could become another holiday surge of respiratory illnesses.
“We’re seeing an increasing number of influenza cases throughout the state of Texas, both on the in-patient side and out-patient side,” said Dr. Luis Ostrosky, an infectious disease specialist with UT Physicians and UT Health Houston.
The increase in flu cases has been dramatic, but the problem doesn’t stop there. Not only are we dealing with the flu, but we’re also dealing with other respiratory illnesses as well.
"We have another virus we’re seeing a big surge in which is RSV or Respiratory Syncytial Virus," Ostrosky said.
RSV has been ravaging children and doctors across the nation have been battling the flood of RSV and flu cases. Texas has not been immune to the crisis.
“We’re seeing very big numbers of RSV throughout the city of Houston,” Ostrosky said.
As of Tuesday, Texas had just 35 open pediatric ICU beds across the entire state. Ostrosky recommends folks get their flu and COVID vaccines as soon as possible.
They don’t prevent illness, but those vaccines will keep you out of a hospital bed. If you don’t feel well, just stay home.