#at the moment due to flu rsv and covid

[soryualeksi]

I have no deep insight to reveal about the issue, I've only been thinking about in an "huh" way about the dichotomy of "It's incredibly awesome how everyone has to make way for you when you drive your ambulance with blue lights and siren, how you can basically use whatever space you want and you'll still look stupidly cool" and "It's mind-crushingly exhausting, thankfully usually only after the fact, how you have to bear direct, imminent responsibility for at least three human lives whenever you flip that switch on your console, as you're accelerating several tons of steel to unsafe velocities in a public area and if you make one (1) mistake you have a good chance of causing severe harm to people".

Like I said. I have no grand insight. It's just "huh".

[heartfucksmouth]

therapy is not gonna very enough for my thoughts today. I'm feeling so many things.

I've been slightly irritated with humans and the world the last couple days. I keep seeing people saying things that infuriate me and wonder why they get to exist on this planet in "blissful" ignorance

like, its the holidays and I've never seen MORE people be absolutely miserable and wanting to take everyone down into their misery pit.

I've never even enjoyed the holidays until the last couple years bc it DID mark a time of trauma and where I felt like dying. I guess it's mind boggling to see humanity on a whole in that position, but it does make sense because the last three years have been so incredibly difficult for so many people. But nobody cares about anyone else, and I feel like it should really be the opposite.

what am I trying to say, I don't even know. at this moment in time I am really trying to look for the small things to get me through. I usually don't feel this way til almost February but I hope it doesn't last and it's just the tension of Christmas and consumerism and capitalism permeating my brain.

this was triggered by me waking out of a dead sleep due to things happening in my house and it sent me into a flashback of the day my sister died. then I checked Facebook and saw statuses of people I know adjacently who all went to a fucking rave and now are sick with covid. I just can't imagine being that fucking ignorant when their attitudes about raves are like "lol love everyone"

you don't care about anyone if you don't wear a mask in a situation that could become a mass spreader event. it's GODDAMN WINTER, the flu and RSV is rampant along with covid. y'all are simple and I'm tired. I have to still think about wearing a mask to the fucking store and even to see my friends/family if they even have a sniffle.

[anxietypastcovid]

Week 10 of Anxietypastcovid challenge

This week is past the eight months and three weeks when the Maribyrnong floods happened. Residents are still trying to piece together their lives when the new flood warning announcement came. There is no compensation for residents and they are angry. They just want answers and some sort of reassurance that it won't happen again.

This week has had its ups and downs. There is that mood instability that I sometimes get for not being able to go as many places due to my flatmates being scared of catching COVID and passing it on to more vulnerable people. It has meant that I fell behind in social graces and manners. I talk to the same people everytime I go walking. I'd like to go to different places without relying on flatmates to drive me there. I don't have a car and PT is riddled with COVID, flu and RSV cases at the moment.

[hummussexual]

PUBLISHED MON, DEC 5 2022 2:16 PM ESTUPDATED TUE, DEC 6 2022 6:04 PM EST

Spencer Kimball

KEY POINTS

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said wearing a mask is an everyday precaution that people can take to reduce their chances of catching or spreading a respiratory virus.

Flu and respiratory syncytial virus are circulating at high levels at the same time Covid is picking up, straining hospital emergency departments.

Walensky strongly encouraged everyone who is eligible to receive their Covid booster and flu shot.

The Centers for Disease Control Prevention on Monday encouraged people to wear masks to help reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses this season as Covid, flu and RSV circulate at the same time.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in a call with reporters, said wearing a mask is one of several everyday precautions that people can take to reduce their chances of catching or spreading a respiratory virus during the busy holiday season.

"We also encourage you to wear a high-quality, well-fitting mask to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses," said Walensky, adding that people living in areas with high levels of Covid transmission should especially consider masking.

The CDC director said the agency is considering expanding its system of Covid community levels to take into account other respiratory viruses such as the flu. The system is the basis for when CDC advises the public to wear masks. But Walensky encouraged people to take proactive action.

"One need not wait on CDC action in order to put a mask on," Walensky said. "We would encourage all of those preventive measures — hand washing, staying home when you're sick, masking, increased ventilation — during respiratory virus season, but especially in areas of high Covid-19 community levels."

About 5% of the U.S. population lives in counties where the CDC is officially recommending masks due to high Covid levels. The CDC continues to recommend masking for anyone travelling by plane, train, bus or other forms of public transportation, Walensky said.

People with weak immune systems and those who otherwise face a heightened risk of severe disease should also consider wearing a mask, the CDC director said.

Walensky strongly encouraged everyone eligible to receive their flu shot and Covid booster. Flu vaccination coverage is lagging for at-risk groups — children under age 5, pregnant women, and at-risk seniors — compared with last year, the CDC director said. There is no vaccine for RSV.

"I want to emphasize that the flu vaccine can be life saving and importantly, there's still time to get vaccinated to be protected against flu this season and its potential serious consequences," Walensky said.

The flu has arrived early and hit the U.S. hard with hospitalizations at a decade high for this time of year. More than 8.7 million people have fallen ill, 78,000 have been hospitalized, and 4,500 people have died from the flu this season, according to CDC data. Fourteen children have died from the flu so far this season.

More than 19,000 people were hospitalized with the flu during the week ending Nov. 26, nearly double the previous week, according to CDC data.

People hospitalized with Covid also increased 27% during the week ending Dec. 2, according to CDC data. And respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, has been hospitalizing children at higher rate than in previous years. Walensky said RSV appears to have peaked in the Southeast and may be leveling off in the Mid-Atlantic, though circulation of the virus remains high in much of the nation.

"We now face yet another surge of illness. Another moment of overstretched capacity and really one of tragic and often preventable death," Walensky said, as she thanked health-care workers for their service during the repeated surges of illness they have confronted since the Covid pandemic began.

Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, board chair of the American Medical Association, said the circulation of Covid, flu and RSV at the same is a "a perfect storm for a terrible holiday season." Fryhofer said she understands many people are tired of receiving repeated Covid shots, but getting vaccinated is the best way to avoiding falling ill over the holidays.

"You could get really, really sick this year and ruin your holiday celebrations if you don't get vaccinated," Fryhofer said during Monday's call.

The Children's Hospital Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics last month asked the Biden administration to declare a public health emergency in response to the surge of pediatric hospitalizations from RSV and the flu.

[atlanticcanada]

When should children go to the ER? Expert says 'trust your parent gut'

Children's hospitals across the country are grappling with a surge of patients due to a 'multi-demic' causing extreme wait times and leading to some parents feeling anxious about what they can do.

The combined effects of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and COVID-19 have brought the health-care system and staff to a breaking point.

Now, parents are wondering at what point, if at all, they should bring their child to an emergency room.

"Always trust your parent gut," Dr. Lisa Barrett, infectious disease specialist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, told CTV News Channel on Sunday. "Things that make you worry, really high breathing rates, coughing that keeps them from breathing well, very young children who can't catch their breath, not eating and drinking and not being alert. Those are all times when you really need to go to a hospital."

Barrett said parents should consult local emergency rooms for guidelines on when they should seek medical help. Many hospitals advise parents to call a health-care provider when symptoms are not improving or get worse.

"Many provinces also have a phone line that you can call and get additional advice," Barrett said. "Use all the resources you have at your disposal at the moment…Don't ever, ever ignore signs that I mentioned and check in with extra resources."

Health Canada released a report from Nov. 6 to 12 (week 45) highlighting the trend of influenza cases at a national level. Subtype influenza A is the majority (97 per cent) of the cases detected.

"Currently, the weekly number of pediatric hospitalizations being reported is at levels typically seen at the peak of the influenza season," the report states.

A report from Nov. 3 to 9, 2019 (week 45), which was the last "typical" year for influenza before the pandemic, explains flu levels across the country were a "similar level to the week prior" that year.

"In week 45, the number of detections of influenza continued to increase," the report says, indicating the positivity rate for influenza was at 3.1 per cent, whereas in 2022 that has risen to 15.8 per cent.

According to Health Canada, Alberta is seeing "widespread" cases of flu with other provinces and territories reporting "sporadic" and "localized" spread. The federal government is calling the rapid and prolonged rates of flu a "national influenza epidemic."

Experts believe the lack of exposure over the last two years from any virus is a reason for the increased number of people getting sick this year.

In the federal government's COVID-19 update on Nov. 10, Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo said immunity to RSV and other respiratory viruses is particularly low among children who have largely remained in confinement over the past two years due to COVID-19 public health measures.

To mitigate pressure from hospitals, medical experts are urging people to take precautions, including being up to date on vaccinations.

The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) urged Friday for families to be vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19, with Dr. Kevin Chan, chair of CPS's acute care committee saying families should prioritize the flu vaccine.

Other solutions to mitigate the spread of viruses are highly encouraged says Barett, who recommends people continue habits formed over the pandemic.

"The answer is not what we did with COVID(-19) and lockdowns, it is remembering the basics," she said. "It's not glitzy, but it's important."

Barrett highlighted handwashing to curb transmission and for everyone to be vaccinated for both COVID-19 and influenza.

"If you're a family and or people in the community, that are comfortable wearing masks in public places, it's not a perfect tool, but it's an add-on tool," she said. "Also being able to stay home when you're sick. I can't emphasize that enough right now."

Barrett said people should prioritize safety when attending events, like masking and not attending if sick.

"A safer respiratory culture is helpful," Barrett said. "There's no magic bullet around this."  

  With files from The Canadian Press. 

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/cQIOGgN