Flu is rising across the country. How about COVID? What the CDC director said in Miami

The director of the country’s top public health agency visited a Westchester pharmacy to encourage vaccinations as the country braces for another possible tripledemic of COVID, flu and RSV during the fall and winter months.

While COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are on the decline again following a late summer uptick in cases, flu and RSV infections have begun to circulate, although those cases remain lower then last year, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Last year, we did see a high number of cases of flu, COVID and RSV circulating at the same time, which really not only made people very sick, but strained our hospital system at the time,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen, an internal medicine physician, told the Miami Herald in an interview. “We really have the power in our hands to know what’s going to happen this season — and for the first time in history, we do have vaccines against all three.”

The 44-year-old Cohen took the reins of the CDC after Rochelle Walensky, who led the agency during the height of the pandemic, resigned earlier this year.

The CVS y mas store at 10660 SW 40th St. was one of the stops on Cohen’s national tour to promote vaccinations ahead of the colder winter months. The visit to the store, which has a large Hispanic customer base that the agency wants to reach, comes just weeks after the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the OK for a newly updated COVID vaccine.

The shots were formulated to target omicron variant XBB.1.5, the dominant strain in the U.S. earlier this year, in preparation for the 2023-2024 fall and winter season.

And while the federal government is no longer paying for the vaccines, adults who are uninsured or underinsured can still get the shots free through December 2024 at CVS, Walgreens and several other healthcare providers participating in the CDC’s Bridge Access program. Most insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare, are expected to cover the vaccine cost. Children eligible for the “Vaccines for Children” program can also get the vaccine from enrolled providers.

Eduardo and Mary Corcharo, who have been married for more than 50 years, got their flu shot at the pharmacy during Cohen’s visit and were in and out of the vaccination booth within minutes. The couple, who are in their 70s, said in Spanish that they receive the flu shot “every year” to help avoid getting sick, though they opted not to get the newly updated COVID-19 vaccine after speaking with their doctor about reactions they had with previous doses.

In the Herald interview, Cohen said some of the health concerns the agency is focused on include the country’s mental health and opioid overdose crisis, as well as ensuring that communities have the resources and tools needed to manage respiratory viruses.

“We have these respiratory viruses that are here and can make you really sick so let’s do what we can to use all of the tools that we have,” Cohen said. “Vaccines is certainly one — but it’s also testing and treatment and common sense solutions that we’ve all learned over the course of the pandemic on how to protect ourselves.”

Here’s what else to know about Cohen’s visit to Miami and the discussion about health and disease:

COVID-19

▪ Forecast: COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are on the decline again in the country and in Florida, though health officials expect it will likely tick up again as the country enters the holiday travel season.

▪ COVID alphabet soup: The current dominant strain in the U.S. is EG.5, also known as Eris, which is estimated to make up about 24% of infections, CDC data shows. In the Southeast region, including Florida, HV.1 has taken the lead and is estimated to make up about 22% of infections, followed by Eris with 20%. Both are descendants of omicron. Federal health officials say the updated shots should still provide good protection against the circulating variants.

Quote: “We’re always watching to see how this virus can change. That’s what it wants to do. It wants to evade our immune system and it wants to spread,” Cohen said during her Miami visit. “So we are constantly watching that at the CDC. We are sequencing many, many, many viruses in order to be able to watch and know how it changes. “

▪ Vaccine eligibility: The FDA authorized the updated COVID shots for people 12 and older, with the vaccine under emergency use authorization for kids as young as 6 months. How many shots you need will depend on your age and the timing of your previous dosages. The CDC is recommending everyone 6 months and older receive at least one dose of the new vaccine. Visit vaccines.gov to find providers, including community health centers, that offer no-cost COVID-19 vaccines through the CDC’s Bridge Acccess Program.

READ MORE: New COVID vaccines are here. Who can get the shots in Florida and where?

Flu

▪ In the U.S., flu season runs through the fall and winter, with peaks typically occurring between December and February, according to the CDC. Influenza activity is starting to tick up though overall it remains low in the country, as of the CDC’s most recent weekly influenza surveillance report, which looked at data through Oct. 7.

▪ U.S. health officials look to countries like Australia in the Southern Hemisphere to get a forecast on what type of flu season could be coming our way. Their verdict:

“We’re expecting the vaccine to do pretty well against flu this year so go out and get it, protect yourself. It doesn’t mean you’re never going to get flu, but it means it will be much more mild,” Cohen said. So far, more than 116 million doses of flu vaccine have been distributed in the U.S. for the 2023-24 season, the CDC says.

RSV

Respiratory synctial virus, or RSV, is a common childhood virus — almost all kids will have an RSV infection before age 2 — that causes cold-like symptoms such as coughing and fever.

Anyone can get RSV, and while most infections are mild, some babies, young children and older adults can get severely ill, particularly those born premature or who have weaker immune systems or a medical condition such as asthma and chronic lung disease. RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children younger than 1.

And for the first time ever, the U.S. has a RSV vaccine available. The CDC is recommending the vaccine for people who are pregnant or are 60 and older. RSV antibodies are also available for babies up to eight months old and kids through 19 months who are considered to have an increase risk for severe RSV disease.

Speak with your doctor if you have any concerns or questions about the vaccines.