As Kentucky approaches chillier weather in late October, Dr. Elizabeth Hawse says it looks more like January in her office at Commonwealth Pediatrics.
"It's a couple of months earlier than typical. Usually, we'll start to see RSV sort of during the holiday season, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then flu will usually occur after that. To see it in early October into late October that we are now, it's unusual," she said.
As people took all kinds of precautions through the height of the pandemic, a lot of respiratory illnesses took a backseat.
"Overall, the numbers of respiratory viruses we saw were way, way down. This year, it's sort of come back with a vengeance," she said.
Hospitals in several states around the country report their pediatric beds are nearly full. Hawse said she's seen facilities in Lexington get pretty full too.
"Certainly, there have been times that they are getting full. I've sent some patients to the ER that have had to board in the ER, so that's not ideal. It does worry me and I think it worries them too, if this gets worse, because we're only in October, then that's going to make a strain," she said.
Flu and RSV are nothing new for doctors, but Hawse says there is something different this year - they seem to be hitting people a bit harder than usual. It's unclear whether that's because they've not been exposed for a couple of years or if it's because the strain is different. Hawse said a lot of people have fallen off their usual vaccine habits.
"I think it's almost like we forgot that we used to get flu vaccinations. We got them in 2019, and then we had the pandemic and people didn't really go out to the doctor if they didn't need to and they got, sort of, out of that habit," she said.
She said she hopes this is a short-term spike, but wonders how things might look when the weather turns really cold.
"If it's this bad in October, when we're still having a lot of 70-degree days, how's this going to be in January when no one's really going outside?" she said.
So, Hawse wants people to get their vaccines and keep an eye out for any symptoms.
