Type 2 diabetes: Study predicts 'startling' rise of the condition among America's young people - Fox News

A new modeling study is raising alarm bells after it determined that the number of young people in the United States with diabetes will increase by nearly 700% over the next 40 years. 

The study, titled "Projections of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Burden in the U.S. Population Aged <20 Years Through 2060: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study," was published in the journal Diabetes Care on Dec. 29, 2022. 

The authors of the study predicted there might be 220,000 people under the age of 20 with Type 2 diabetes in the year 2060 — an increase of about 675% from the number of young people with type 2 diabetes in 2017. 

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"This new research should serve as a wake-up call for all of us. It’s vital that we focus our efforts to ensure all Americans, especially our young people, are the healthiest they can be," said CDC Acting Principal Deputy Director Debra Houry, MD, MPH, in a statement released on Dec. 29.

Houry added, "This study further highlights the importance of continuing efforts to prevent and manage chronic diseases, not only for our current population but also for generations to come."

People with diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar to ensure it is at a safe level.  (iStock)

Diabetes mellitus type 1, or Type 1 diabetes, was formerly known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes.

It does not have a known cause, and is suspected to be linked to genetic or environmental factors, the Mayo Clinic's website notes. 

People with Type 1 diabetes do not produce insulin and must take insulin to survive. 

Type 2 diabetes refers to a condition in which a person's pancreas does not produce enough insulin and cells become resistant to insulin. 

Typically, people are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as children; however, it can occur at any age, according to the Mayo Clinic. 

MORE THAN 75% OF AMERICANS AREN'T GETTING ENOUGH EXERCISE, ACCORDING TO CDC STANDARDS

Conversely, diabetes mellitus type 2, or Type 2 diabetes, was formerly referred to as adult onset diabetes, notes the website for the Mayo Clinic. 

It is linked with obesity and inactivity. 

Type 2 diabetes refers to a condition in which a person's pancreas does not produce enough insulin and cells become resistant to insulin. 

This results in an increase of a person's blood sugar, which can be dangerous over time, says the Mayo Clinic. 

Diet and exercise are two ways that people can manage Type 2 diabetes, says the Mayo Clinic.  (iStock)

This condition cannot be cured.

However, it can be managed with medications, proper diet and exercise.

In the study, the researchers found that if the incidence rate of all types of diabetes in 2017 among young people remains the same until 2060, the total number of young diabetics would rise from 213,000 to 239,000 — for an increase of 12%. 

Over the last two decades, however, the number of young people with the Type 2 diabetes has "substantially increased," said the CDC. 

OZEMPIC DIABETES DRUG IS TRENDING AS A WEIGHT-LOSS METHOD — HERE'S WHY AND WHAT DOCTORS SAY

The CDC believes that "the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity," as well as "the presence of diabetes in people of childbearing age," could be two reasons for why the number of young Type 2 diabetics has increased so rapidly. 

Those with Type 2 diabetes may need the help of medication to better control their blood sugar.  (iStock)

When the percentage increase in the number of young people with Type 2 diabetes between 2002 and 2017 is applied to future generations, the researchers found that the number of young diabetics could be as high as 526,000. 

"Increases in diabetes — especially among young people — are always worrisome, but these numbers are alarming," said Christopher Holliday, director of CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, in the study's press release from the CDC.

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Race and ethnicity are believed to play a role, said the study. 

It found there will likely be "a higher burden of type 2 diabetes for Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native youth." 

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"This study’s startling projections of Type 2 diabetes increases show why it is crucial to advance health equity and reduce the widespread disparities that already take a toll on people’s health," said Holliday. 

Christine Rousselle is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.

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Type 2 diabetes: Study predicts 'startling' rise of the condition among America's young people - Fox News

A new modeling study is raising alarm bells after it determined that the number of young people in the United States with diabetes will increase by nearly 700% over the next 40 years. 

The study, titled "Projections of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Burden in the U.S. Population Aged <20 Years Through 2060: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study," was published in the journal Diabetes Care on Dec. 29, 2022. 

The authors of the study predicted there might be 220,000 people under the age of 20 with Type 2 diabetes in the year 2060 — an increase of about 675% from the number of young people with type 2 diabetes in 2017. 

DIABETES DRUG LED TO SIGNIFICANT WEIGHT LOSS IN PEOPLE WITH OBESITY: STUDY

"This new research should serve as a wake-up call for all of us. It’s vital that we focus our efforts to ensure all Americans, especially our young people, are the healthiest they can be," said CDC Acting Principal Deputy Director Debra Houry, MD, MPH, in a statement released on Dec. 29.

Houry added, "This study further highlights the importance of continuing efforts to prevent and manage chronic diseases, not only for our current population but also for generations to come."

People with diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar to ensure it is at a safe level.  (iStock)

Diabetes mellitus type 1, or Type 1 diabetes, was formerly known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes.

It does not have a known cause, and is suspected to be linked to genetic or environmental factors, the Mayo Clinic's website notes. 

People with Type 1 diabetes do not produce insulin and must take insulin to survive. 

Type 2 diabetes refers to a condition in which a person's pancreas does not produce enough insulin and cells become resistant to insulin. 

Typically, people are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as children; however, it can occur at any age, according to the Mayo Clinic. 

MORE THAN 75% OF AMERICANS AREN'T GETTING ENOUGH EXERCISE, ACCORDING TO CDC STANDARDS

Conversely, diabetes mellitus type 2, or Type 2 diabetes, was formerly referred to as adult onset diabetes, notes the website for the Mayo Clinic. 

It is linked with obesity and inactivity. 

Type 2 diabetes refers to a condition in which a person's pancreas does not produce enough insulin and cells become resistant to insulin. 

This results in an increase of a person's blood sugar, which can be dangerous over time, says the Mayo Clinic. 

Diet and exercise are two ways that people can manage Type 2 diabetes, says the Mayo Clinic.  (iStock)

This condition cannot be cured.

However, it can be managed with medications, proper diet and exercise.

In the study, the researchers found that if the incidence rate of all types of diabetes in 2017 among young people remains the same until 2060, the total number of young diabetics would rise from 213,000 to 239,000 — for an increase of 12%. 

Over the last two decades, however, the number of young people with the Type 2 diabetes has "substantially increased," said the CDC. 

OZEMPIC DIABETES DRUG IS TRENDING AS A WEIGHT-LOSS METHOD — HERE'S WHY AND WHAT DOCTORS SAY

The CDC believes that "the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity," as well as "the presence of diabetes in people of childbearing age," could be two reasons for why the number of young Type 2 diabetics has increased so rapidly. 

Those with Type 2 diabetes may need the help of medication to better control their blood sugar.  (iStock)

When the percentage increase in the number of young people with Type 2 diabetes between 2002 and 2017 is applied to future generations, the researchers found that the number of young diabetics could be as high as 526,000. 

"Increases in diabetes — especially among young people — are always worrisome, but these numbers are alarming," said Christopher Holliday, director of CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, in the study's press release from the CDC.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

Race and ethnicity are believed to play a role, said the study. 

It found there will likely be "a higher burden of type 2 diabetes for Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native youth." 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"This study’s startling projections of Type 2 diabetes increases show why it is crucial to advance health equity and reduce the widespread disparities that already take a toll on people’s health," said Holliday. 

Christine Rousselle is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.

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Ohio county reports more than 80 measles cases, majority of the country's 117 - Fox News

A measles outbreak in Central Ohio has infected 82 patients under the age of 18 with nearly 40% of the children, 32, needing to be hospitalized, according to reports. 

The outbreak in Franklin County marks the first time a case has been reported in the area in 20 years, Axios reported. 

Franklin County's 82 cases make up the bulk of the nation's 117 reported cases. 

The majority of the cases were in babies younger than 1 to 5-year-olds who had not yet been vaccinated. 

WORLD VACCINATION RATES HAVE REACHED THEIR LOWEST POINT IN YEARS. COULD COVID BE TO BLAME 

None of the children in Ohio who were reported contracting measles had been fully vaccinated. (Reuters/Hereward Holland)

None of the children had been fully vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, which includes a fever, runny nose and rash but can also lead to complications. 

"Measles can be serious," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. "Children younger than 5 years of age and adults older than 20 years of age are more likely to suffer from complications. Common complications are ear infections and diarrhea. Serious complications include pneumonia and encephalitis."

A health care worker prepares syringes, including a vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), for a child's inoculations at the International Community Health Services in Seattle. Officials in the Pacific Northwest say a measles outbreak that sickened multiple people is over. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

A child must be at least 1 to get the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccination and 28% of those infected reportedly weren’t old enough to receive it. 

WHO, UNICEF WARN ABOUT ‘PERFECT STORM’ FOR MEASLES IN CHILDREN 

The outbreak was thought to have spread as a result of four unvaccinated people returning to the area from counties where measles is prevalent, Mysheika Roberts, Columbus’s public health commissioner told Axios.

"In the year 2000, measles was declared gone from the United States," Charles Patterson, Clark County Combined Health District Health Commissioner told The Hill. "Unfortunately, we are starting to see it back now and that’s a huge problem because of the reduction in vaccines that are out there."

A child suffering from measles in Afghanistan during a deadly outbreak in the country this year.  (Photo by Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Local health officials are encouraging Ohioans to get the MMR vaccine, which experts say is 97% effective. 

"Measles is a very contagious and serious illness," the Columbus City Health Department says on its website. "The MMR vaccine is safe and highly effective at preventing measles. MMR vaccines are available at Columbus Public Health during regular vaccine clinic hours and at Franklin County Public Health by appointment only. Children also can get MMR vaccines from their pediatrician or medical home." 

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No deaths have been reported. 

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Is this long COVID or am I just getting older? - Yahoo Finance

You’re middle-aged with new symptoms after your COVID infection—fatigue, brain fog, joint pain. Is it long COVID? Or are you just getting older?

If you’ve found yourself wondering, you’re not alone.

“It’s a thing,” Dr. Alba Miranda Azola, codirector of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s long COVID clinic, told Fortune.

Given that the world has seen just shy of 650 million officially recorded COVID cases—and that about 10% of the world’s population is age 65 or older—aging and long COVID are bound to intersect in a big way. This is especially true given that the aging process, for many, becomes noticeable starting in early middle age.

As patients get older, “I think it gets a little bit muddy,” Azola said.

Currently, there are no official diagnostic criteria for long COVID. Even the definition of the condition varies depending on whom you talk to, though it’s generally considered to be new symptoms that start during a COVID infection or appear after one, and persist for weeks or months.

Complicating matters, symptoms and timing of aging can vary widely due to genetic and environmental factors. Thus, it’s not possible to definitively say whether your new symptoms are due to aging or long COVID, both, or neither, Azola and other experts say.

“Could it be long COVID? The short answer is yes,” she said. “But it’s difficult to tease out whether it’s long COVID or whether other things are contributing.”

A ‘chicken or the egg?’ dilemma

With more than 200 symptoms identified—from lingering cough and fatigue to ear numbness and a sensation of “brain on fire”—long COVID is undoubtedly not one but multiple conditions, experts say.

True long COVID, many contend, is best defined as a chronic-fatigue-syndrome-like condition that develops after a COVID infection, similar to other postviral syndromes that can occur after an infection with herpes, Lyme disease, and Ebola, among others.

Other post-COVID complications like organ damage should not be defined as long COVID and better fit into the larger umbrella category of PASC, experts say. Also known as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, the term is used to encompass a wide variety of COVID consequences, from the chronic-fatigue-like symptoms and subsequent heart disease to lasting lung damage to odd new symptoms like urinary incontinence, itching, and skin lesions.

Signs of aging can overlap with long COVID, or at least feel like they do. They often include back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and dementia, among others, according to the World Health Organization, in addition to fatigue.

Officially diagnosed or not, nearly 60% of the global population is estimated to have been infected with COVID, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Now that the majority of global citizens have experienced the virus, determining what new symptoms and conditions the virus caused, or contributed to, is difficult, said Dr. Nir Goldstein, a pulmonologist at National Jewish Health in Denver who runs the hospital’s long COVID clinic.

“It becomes challenging from a clinical perspective to temporally define causation,” he told Fortune.

Timing as a tell

Aging symptoms tend to appear gradually, Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, an assistant professor in Johns Hopkins’ division of pulmonary and critical care medicine who sees long COVID patients, told Fortune. Not so with long COVID.

“There really is a stark difference between, ‘Before I felt like this’ and ‘After I felt like that,’” he said regarding long COVID symptoms after a COVID infection. “I don’t get too many people confusing their symptoms with aging.”

“A lot of patients will tell you they feel like they’ve aged after COVID,” he added.

Azola has many elderly patients who were less active during the past two years due to pandemic restrictions and now complain that exercise exhausts them. Decreased activity during the pandemic—not the virus—could be to blame, at least for some of their symptoms, she said.

“The older population is experiencing a mix of decreased activity during the years of isolation, and then deconditioning,” she said.

“Most respond well to more physical approaches to progression of activity” or physical therapy, she said.

For now, it doesn’t matter what’s causing your symptoms, experts say, since no treatments specifically for long COVID have been approved. Doctors treat the symptoms, regardless of cause.

Eventually, the cause of the symptoms could matter if the exact mechanisms behind long COVID are determined and treatments are developed, Goldstein said.

“But at this point, practically, it doesn’t,” he said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

More from Fortune:
People who skipped their COVID vaccine are at higher risk of traffic incidents
Elon Musk says getting booed by Dave Chapelle fans 'was a first for me in real life' suggesting he's aware of building backlash
Gen Z and young millennials have found a new way to afford luxury handbags and watches—living with mom and dad
Meghan Markle’s real sin that the British public can’t forgive–and Americans can’t understand

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Long COVID: What scientists have learned about the symptoms affecting millions around the world - CBS News

A British historian, an Italian archaeologist and an American preschool teacher have never met in person, but they share a prominent pandemic bond.

Plagued by eerily similar symptoms, the three women are credited with describing, naming and helping bring long COVID into the public's consciousness in early 2020.

Rachel Pope, of Liverpool, took to Twitter in late March 2020 to describe her bedeviling symptoms, then unnamed, after a coronavirus infection. Elisa Perego in Italy first used the term "long COVID," in a May tweet that year. Amy Watson in Portland, Oregon, got inspiration in naming her Facebook support group from the trucker cap she'd been wearing, and "long hauler" soon became part of the pandemic lexicon.

Nearly three years into the pandemic, scientists are still trying to figure out why some people get long COVID and why a small portion — including the three women — have lasting symptoms.

Millions of people worldwide have had long COVID, reporting various symptoms including fatigue, lung problems, and brain fog and other neurological symptoms. Evidence suggests most recover substantially within a year, but recent data show that it has contributed to more than 3,500 U.S. deaths.

Here's some of the latest evidence:

Women more at risk?

Many studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that women are more likely than men to develop long COVID.

There could be biological reasons.

Women's immune systems generally mount stronger reactions to viruses, bacteria, parasites and other germs, noted Sabra Klein, a Johns Hopkins professor who studies immunity.

Women are also much more likely than men to have autoimmune diseases, where the body mistakenly attacks its own healthy cells. Some scientists believe long COVID could result from an autoimmune response triggered by the virus.

Women's bodies also tend to have more fat tissue and emerging research suggests the coronavirus may hide in fat after infection. Scientists also are studying whether women's fluctuating hormone levels may increase the risks.

Another possible factor: Women are more likely than men to seek health care and often more attuned to changes in their bodies, Klein noted.

"I don't think we should ignore that," she said. Biology and behavior are probably both at play, Klein said.

It may thus be no coincidence that it was three women who helped shine the first light on long COVID.

Pope, 46, started chronicling what she was experiencing in March 2020: flu-like symptoms, then her lungs, heart and joints were affected. After a month she started having some "OK" days, but symptoms persisted.

She and some similarly ill colleagues connected with Perego on Twitter. "We started sort of coming together because it was literally the only place where we could do that," Pope said. "In 2020, we would joke that we'd get together for Christmas and have a party," Pope said. "Then obviously it went on, and I think we stopped joking."

Watson started her virtual long haulers group that April. The others soon learned of that nickname and embraced it.

Long COVID symptoms cost woman her job 02:29

Mono virus

Several studies suggest the ubiquitous Epstein-Barr virus could play a role in some cases of long COVID.

Inflammation caused by coronavirus infection can activate herpes viruses, which remain in the body after causing an acute infection, said Dr. Timothy Henrich, a virus expert at the University of California, San Francisco.

Epstein-Barr virus is among the most common of these herpes viruses: An estimated 90% of the U.S. population has been infected with it. The virus can cause mononucleosis or symptoms that may be dismissed as a cold.

Henrich is among researchers who have found immune markers signaling Epstein-Barr reactivation in the blood of long COVID patients, particularly those with fatigue.

Not all long COVID patients have these markers. But it's possible that Epstein-Barr is causing symptoms in those who do, although scientists say more study is needed.

Some scientists also believe that Epstein-Barr triggers chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition that bears many similarities to long COVID, but that also is unproven.

Obesity

Obesity is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 infections and scientists are trying to understand why.

Stanford University researchers are among those who have found evidence that the coronavirus can infect fat cells. In a recent study, they found the virus and signs of inflammation in fat tissue taken from people who had died from COVID.

Lab tests showed that the virus can reproduce in fat tissue. That raises the possibility that fat tissue could serve as a "reservoir," potentially fueling long COVID.

Could removing fat tissue treat or prevent some cases of long COVID? It's a tantalizing question, but the research is preliminary, said Dr. Catherine Blish, a Stanford infectious diseases professor and a senior author of the study.

Scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center are studying leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells that can influence the body's immune response and promote inflammation.

They plan to study whether injections of a manufactured antibody could reduce leptin levels — and in turn inflammation from coronavirus infections or long COVID.

"We have a good scientific basis together with some preliminary data to argue that we might be on the right track," said Dr. Philipp Scherer.

Long COVID may leave 1 in 5 people infected with coronavirus with long-term symptoms 06:15

Duration

It has been estimated that about 30% of people infected with the coronavirus will develop long COVID, based on data from earlier in the pandemic.

Most people who have lingering, recurrent or new symptoms after infection will recover after about three months. Among those with symptoms at three months, about 15% will continue to have symptoms for at least nine more months, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Figuring out who's at risk for years-long symptoms "is such a complicated question," said Dr. Lawrence Purpura, an infectious disease expert at Columbia University.

Those with severe infections seem to be more at risk for long COVID, although it can also affect people with mild infections. Those whose infections cause severe lung damage including scarring may experience breathlessness, coughing or fatigue for more than a year. And a smaller group of patients with mild initial COVID-19 infections may develop neurologic symptoms for more than a year, including chronic fatigue and brain fog, Purpura said.

"The majority of patients will eventually recover," he said. "It's important for people to know that."

It's small consolation for the three women who helped the world recognize long COVID.

Perego, 44, developed heart, lung and neurologic problems and remains seriously ill.

She knows that scientists have learned a lot in a short time, but she says "there is a gap" between long COVID research and medical care.

"We need to translate scientific knowledge into better treatment and policy," she said.

Watson, approaching 50, says she has "never had any kind of recovery." She has had severe migraines, plus digestive, nerve and foot problems. Recently she developed severe anemia.

She wishes the medical community had a more organized approach to treating long COVID. Doctors say not knowing the underlying cause or causes makes that difficult.

"I just want my life back," Watson said, "and it's not looking like that's all that possible."

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CDC issues warning about rise of invasive strep A infections in children - The Hill

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This handout image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows an electron microscope image of Group A Streptococcus (orange) during phagocytic interaction with a human neutrophil (blue). (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases via AP)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory on Thursday warning clinicians and public health authorities about a recent rise in invasive strep A infections in children.

The CDC was notified of a possible increase in infections at a hospital in Colorado in November, and possible increases in infections in other states were noted in the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s provider-based Emerging Infections Network.

The CDC says places where there have been an increase in respiratory syncytial virus, influenza viruses, COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses have also seen an increase in strep A infections.

While the number of overall cases have remained low and invasive strep A infections remain rare in children, the CDC said it’s investigating the rise in cases and has issued the health advisory.

Invasive group A streptococcal bacteria “can cause a range of illnesses, from pharyngitis (i.e., strep throat) and skin and soft tissue infections to uncommon but severe diseases such as sepsis, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis. These severe and invasive diseases are associated with high mortality rates and require immediate treatment, including appropriate antibiotic therapy,” according to the CDC.

Who could be at risk?

Groups with the highest risk levels include:

• People aged 65 years or older
• American Indian and Alaska Native populations
• Residents of long-term care facilities
• People with medical conditions such as diabetes, malignancy, immunosuppression, chronic kidney, cardiac or respiratory disease
• People with wounds or skin disease
• People who inject drugs or who are experiencing homelessness

Watch live: Bidens visit DC Children’s National Hospital Juilliard places professor on leave amid sexual harassment accusations

Recommendations from the CDC for health care providers include:

• Offering prompt influenza and varicella vaccinations to all people who are not up to date
• Educating patients on the signs and symptoms of invasive Strep A, especially those that are at an increased risk.

More recommendations can be found here.

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‘Tripledemic’ Rages On: Fever-Filled Weeks Lie Ahead - The New York Times

R.S.V. has probably peaked, but flu is still surging and Covid-19 cases are rising. Scientists are hopeful next winter will be better.

It has become wearyingly routine: Americans are embarking upon yet another holiday travel season in the midst of a viral onslaught.

New, immune evasive versions of the Omicron variant are spreading, and Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are once again rising, although the figures remain far below last winter’s peak. But this year the coronavirus has company: Common seasonal viruses, which lay low for the last two winters, have come roaring back.

“And as it turns out, they have some makeup work to do,” said Peter Graven, who directs the office of advanced analytics at Oregon Health & Science University.

In particular, influenza and R.S.V., or respiratory syncytial virus, hit early and hard this fall, causing major outbreaks that are now overlapping with a resurgent coronavirus. This viral pileup — what some are calling a “tripledemic” — has already set off an exhausting season of sickness, triggering sky-high demand for pain and fever relievers and pushing children’s hospitals to the brink.

But each of these three viruses is on a slightly different trajectory. Although there is considerable geographic variation, in most parts of the country R.S.V. has probably already peaked, while flu is now surging, experts said. And Covid is still ramping up, with cases likely to continue rising.

That means that more difficult, fever-filled weeks still lie ahead. “A lot of sniffly kids,” said Andrew Lover, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences. “There’ll be a lot of respiratory illness floating around from all these different sources.”

It is not too late to get a Covid booster or a flu shot, which appears to be well-matched to the influenza strains circulating this year, scientists said. And experts repeated their now-common exhortations to take basic precautions, such as wearing masks in crowded indoor spaces, using rapid Covid tests before visiting vulnerable people and staying home when feeling unwell.

“I know people are kind of tired of hearing some of that stuff,” Dr. Graven said. “We’re not saying people need to change your life forever. Right now, for the next some number of weeks, we’re in not a great spot.”

Scientists are hopeful that next winter will be better, noting that this brutal season is an unfortunate, and not entirely unexpected, byproduct of several years of pandemic precautions, such as masking and social distancing. These measures shielded many people from routine winter infections and may have spared overburdened health care systems from even bigger surges.

But many children and adults also missed out on the opportunity to build or bolster their immune defenses against flu and R.S.V., leaving the viruses with an unusually vulnerable population this fall.

“There was a bit of a buildup of susceptibility at the population level,” said Virginia Pitzer, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. “It’s a worse than normal winter, but one that hopefully will not be repeated next year.”

A viral comeback

R.S.V. typically peaks in December or January, but this year, cases of R.S.V. began rising steeply in September.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, via Associated Press

The first virus to surge this fall was R.S.V., which usually causes mild illness but can be severe, or even fatal, in older adults and young children. By the time children in the United States are two years old, almost all have been exposed to the virus.

The virus typically peaks in December or January. But this year, cases of R.S.V. began rising steeply in September, and by mid-November, pediatric hospitalization rates had hit the highest level since tracking began in 2018. Hospitalization rates for older adults have surged, too.

Flu took off in October, about six weeks ahead of schedule, and has already caused at least 150,000 hospitalizations and 9,300 deaths, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The cumulative hospitalization rate is higher for this time of year than it has been in more than a decade.

“We had a huge pool of people, compared to what we normally do, who could be infected by R.S.V. and could be infected by flu because we’ve basically missed two seasons of it,” said Jeffrey Shaman, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Columbia University. As a result, he said, the viruses were “able to go to work early and infect a lot of people. And that’s why we’re seeing these very large, marked outbreaks early on.”

There have also been reports that cases of invasive infections of group A Streptococcus bacteria, or strep A, may be on the rise in the United States and Europe. Although these cases remain rare, they may be related to the recent surges in flu and R.S.V., which can leave people more vulnerable to invasive strep, officials have said.

However, some encouraging signs have recently emerged, especially regarding R.S.V. Nationally, hospitalization rates and R.S.V. detections have fallen since mid-November, according to C.D.C. data.

“I think it’s likely that the R.S.V. season has peaked in most parts of the country,” Dr. Pitzer said. “I think that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

The trajectory of the flu surge is more difficult to discern, scientists said. Levels of the virus are still very high, and some locations may be seeing their flu peaks now. “It still looks really serious most everywhere,” Dr. Lover said.

But there are hints that conditions may be beginning to improve in some areas of the country, including in parts of the South and the Mid-Atlantic States. According to the C.D.C.’s latest influenza report, during the week that ended on Dec. 10, the percentage of laboratory samples testing positive for flu held steady, nationally, and the number of hospital admissions declined, compared with that of the previous week.

Several experts expressed hope that this year’s early-starting flu season might also end early, with cases plummeting quickly as the virus finds fewer people to infect. “It burns through all the people who are susceptible to disease or to infection and doesn’t have as much fuel during the traditional season,” said Justin Lessler, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Earlier this year, for instance, Australia saw a severe, early flu season, with cases rising precipitously and then “crashing down pretty quickly,” Dr. Shaman noted.

Alternatively, flu cases could plateau for a while. In a number of California communities, the amount of influenza present in the wastewater has stopped rising but remains high, said Alexandria Boehm, an environmental engineer at Stanford University and a lead investigator for WastewaterSCAN, a national sewage surveillance initiative. “That suggests that there are still quite a few infections,” she said.

Even if the current outbreak abates, another flu bump could occur later in the season, scientists said.

“The optimistic view is that we had an early, severe season, and that hopefully what will happen over the next couple of weeks is that all of the numbers will start going down,” said Dr. Helen Chu, an infectious-disease physician and epidemiologist at the University of Washington. “But the pessimistic view is that this is just the beginning, and then we’ll see a couple of later waves.”

Covid, again

Experts stress that it’s not too late to get a Covid booster or a flu shot, which appears to be well-matched to the influenza strains circulating this year. Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

Covid-19, on the other hand, appears to be on the upswing. At many of WastewaterSCAN’s sites, coronavirus levels began increasing in early November and surged around Thanksgiving, Dr. Boehm said. Levels are still trending upward at most sites, she said; at some, they are even approaching last winter’s peaks.

Officially recorded Covid cases, which remain a significant underestimate, have increased 24 percent over the past two weeks, while hospitalizations are up nine percent. There are more than 400 Covid-related deaths a day, on average, a 41 percent jump from two weeks ago.

Those figures are likely to rise further in the coming weeks, experts predicted, fueled by a combination of holiday travel, indoor gatherings, waning immunity and the spread of BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, two new, highly immune-evasive versions of Omicron. (So far, these subvariants do not appear to be causing more severe disease than earlier forms of Omicron did, scientists said.)

The precise timing and size of a new Covid wave is difficult to predict, with experts forecasting that cases might peak nationally anytime between the end of December and early February. Most predicted that high levels of pre-existing immunity — from vaccination, infection or both — would likely keep the overall toll lower than during previous winter surges.

“We’re going to get a noticeable and meaningful peak in hospitalizations and deaths but nothing that looks like what we saw the past two winters,” Dr. Lessler said.

The emergence of new variants remains a wild card. The explosion of cases in China could theoretically increase that risk; the more the virus spreads, the more opportunities it has to mutate and evolve. But new variants can emerge anywhere, and given how widespread the virus already is around the world, China’s current outbreak may not have “an appreciable impact on the rate at which new variants are emerging,” Dr. Lessler said.

It remains too early to say whether flu and R.S.V. will return to their typical rhythms next year. But not every winter will be this bad, scientists predicted. “We are sort of making up for the immunity gap that existed during these last two years,” Dr. Chu said. “Things will probably get better.” (An R.S.V. vaccine might be available by next winter, too, she noted.)

Still, even before the pandemic, the flu burden varied widely from year to year — a bad season can cause more than 50,000 deaths and overwhelm hospitals — and Covid is likely to remain part of the winter mix.

“That’s going to run up the numbers every year, in terms of how many people have severe respiratory disease,” Dr. Lessler said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if just the overall burden from severe respiratory disease is going to be higher in the coming decade than it was in the decade leading up to 2020.”

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‘Tripledemic’ Rages On: Fever-Filled Weeks Lie Ahead - The New York Times
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On the nose: Duke researcher uncovers link between long COVID and loss of smell - WRAL News

A Duke University scientist said he's learned the reason for the loss of smell during long COVID.

The discovery comes at a time when COVID sufferers are trying to shake fatigue, brain fog and shortness of breath.

However, long after some COVID patients walk out of the hospital doors, they're still struggling.

But now Duke has provided some insight as to what’s causing the long recovery.

"I have good and bad days," said Becky Babel, who suffers from long COVID. "Some days are good and some days are not.”

Doctors diagnosed Babel with COVID-19 in February of 2021.

Just two weeks away until the start of 2023, she’s still struggling. She’s still tired and her ability to taste and smell has decreased.

“There are days I have a hard time getting out of the bed," Babel said. "I have no energy level.”

Dr. Brad Goldstein at Duke University researched why long COVID is happening, specifically the loss of smell.

The study took 24 biopsies from the nose of nine people suffering long COVID. During the process the team found a consistency.

“There seems to be some unresolved inflammation in that area of the nose that we believe is disrupting the smell process,” said Dr. Goldstein.

Dr. Goldstein says the next step in the research process is to identify drugs that can decrease the inflammation in the nose.

The bigger picture is that the research could be used to address other long COVID symptoms like brain fog, shortness of breath and fatigue.

“If there is a cure out there I would be all for it,” said Babel, who wants to finish her graduate degree and get back to being a teacher full-time.

The WRAL Data Trackers analyzed CDC information and found that women are more likely than men to experience long COVID across the country. In North Carolina, about three out of every 10 adults who had COVID is currently experiencing long COVID symptoms. And 9 percent of those with long COVID say they've had significant activity limitations since contracting it.

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Children's Tylenol in short supply - here's what parents can do - BBC

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By Madeline Halpert

BBC News, New York

A severe season of cold and flu is leading to empty pharmacy shelves and thinning supplies of antibiotics in the US and other parts of the world.

Parents are struggling to find children's versions of over-the-counter medicines like Ibuprofen and Tylenol as well as the antibiotic Amoxicillin.

Some major pharmacies are limiting customers' purchases to ensure everyone has access to the drugs.

But there are a number of strategies for parents looking for help.

Hillary Dalfonso, a mother to a toddler, wanted to take action after she learned her sick friend had to travel to four different stores in town to track down medication for her ill child.

She started a Facebook group where parents could share posts highlighting which stores have the products in stock. She said she was inspired by such groups that popped up during the recent infant formula shortage in the US.

"I'm hoping this group can do the same for parents to prevent the stress of running around, using gas while it's expensive and [losing] valuable time" when dealing with a sick child, she said.

Why is there a shortage of children's Tylenol?

This drug shortage is unusual, experts say.

"In most seasons, it is rare to experience shortages of these medications, especially as widespread as this," said Brandon Dionne, an associate clinical professor at Northeastern University School of Pharmacy in Boston, Massachusetts.

Globally, countries have been battling an earlier and severe season of viruses, including the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can be dangerous for young children.

The illnesses have overwhelmed children's hospitals.

• RSV and flu surge in US ahead of holidays - what to know
• Parents 'panic' amid Canada shortage of children's pain meds

Supplies were prepped to keep up with previous winter seasons, but the uptick in illnesses earlier in the season meant manufacturers fell behind, said Stephen Schondelmeyer, a professor in the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy.

Johnson & Johnson, which makes Children's Tylenol and Children's Motrin, told the BBC the company has not been experiencing widespread shortages of the products, but that they may be less readily available due to consumer demand caused by a difficult virus season. The company is maximising production capacity, a spokesperson said.

The antibiotic Amoxicillin has been affected by the sickness season as well. Though Amoxicillin does not treat viruses, respiratory illnesses have caused an increase in secondary infections that the drug can treat.

What are pharmacies doing about the shortage?

Fearing the shortage, some parents are hoarding over-the-counter medications, which experts say they should never do, as it makes the problem worse.

CVS Pharmacy told the BBC it has had to limit each customer to two children's pain relief products to help ensure access to the drugs, while Walgreens said it has restricted online customers to six over-the-counter paediatric fever reducers.

Dr Schondelmeyer said drug makers are beginning to catch up to market demands, but short supplies could persist for up to another month.

Who is affected by the medication shortage?

The US, Canada and parts of Europe are all dealing with children's medication shortages.

More than a dozen states in the US had "very high" levels of respiratory illnesses last week, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The southern states of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi as well as some states on the east coast, including Washington, DC, Virginia and North Carolina, have been hit hard by shortages, Dr Schondelmeyer says.

What can parents do this cold and flu season?

Public health experts say Americans should stay up to date on Covid-19 and flu shots to avoid respiratory infections.

Parents should avoid giving children cold medicines besides Tylenol and Ibuprofen because they do not work well, said Sean O'Leary, chairman of the Committee on Infectious Diseases at the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Parents can use other methods to make their children more comfortable, he said, including salt water nasal sprays and humidifiers for stuffy noses.

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If parents struggle to find children's Tylenol and Ibuprofen for their children at the pharmacy, they should consult the pharmacist about other options, said Dr Schondelmeyer.

Pharmacists can instruct parents on how to cut and crush adult dosage fever and pain relievers into child doses, but parents should never attempt to do this on their own.

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California flu deaths plummeted during COVID mandates. Now cases are rising again - Sacramento Bee

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Opposition to School Vaccine Mandates Has Grown Significantly, Study Finds - The New York Times

A third of parents now feel they should be the ones to decide whether to get their children immunized against measles, mumps and other childhood diseases.

For generations of most American families, getting children vaccinated was just something to check off on the list of back-to-school chores. But after the ferocious battles over Covid shots of the past two years, simmering resistance to general school vaccine mandates has grown significantly. Now, 35 percent of parents oppose requirements that children receive routine immunizations in order to attend school, according to a new survey released Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

All of the states and the District of Columbia mandate that children receive vaccinations against measles, mumps, rubella and other highly contagious, deadly childhood diseases. (Most permit a few limited exemptions.)

Throughout the pandemic, the Kaiser foundation, a nonpartisan health care research organization, has been issuing monthly reports on changing attitudes toward Covid vaccines. The surveys have showed a growing political divide over the issue, and the latest study indicates that division now extends to routine childhood vaccinations.

Forty-four percent of adults who either identify as Republicans or lean that way said in the latest survey that parents should have the right to opt out of school vaccine mandates, up from 20 percent in a prepandemic poll conducted in 2019 by the Pew Research Center. In contrast, 88 percent of adults who identify as or lean Democratic endorsed childhood vaccine requirements, a slight increase from 86 percent in 2019.

The survey found that 28 percent of adults overall believed parents should have the authority to make school vaccine decisions for their children, a stance that in the 2019 Pew poll was held by just 16 percent of adults.

The shift in positions appears to be less about rejecting the shots than a growing endorsement of the so-called parents’ rights movement. Indeed, 80 percent of parents said that the benefits of vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella outweighed the risks, down only slightly from 83 percent in 2019.

“The talking point that has been circulated is the concept of taking away parents’ rights,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on infectious diseases. “And when you frame it that simply, it’s very appealing to a certain segment of the population. But what about the right to have your children be safe in school from vaccine-preventable diseases?”

An anti-vaccine demonstration outside the California Capitol in Sacramento in 2020. Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press

Still, Dr. O’Leary said that he wasn’t overly worried that school vaccine mandates would be lifted but that the growing embrace of parents’ rights might further slow compliance with state-required immunization schedules, a timeline that has long been endorsed by pediatricians.

“We know a lot of kids missed their vaccines during the pandemic, not because they were refusing, but because, for many reasons, people weren’t going to the doctor,” he said. “And we do have a global dip in vaccine coverage. So this is not a time to be considering a rollback of these laws.”

The latest survey was based on interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,259 adults and was conducted from Nov. 29 through Dec. 8.

It showed disappointing rates of uptake of the latest Covid booster, a “bivalent” shot that targets both the original coronavirus and the Omicron variant and has been available since September. Just four in 10 adults said they had either gotten the booster or intended to do so. Among those 65 and older — the age group at the highest risk — about one in four said they had been too busy to get it or hadn’t found the time to do so.

Even among adults who had received previous Covid vaccines, the survey found that more than four in 10 said they felt they did not need this latest shot.

Only about a third of respondents said they personally feared getting very ill from Covid, though half expressed concerns in general about rising rates of Covid this winter. About two-thirds of Black and Latino adults were apprehensive about Covid rates, compared with about four in 10 white adults.

The survey also found that about half of parents worried that their children could fall sick this winter from Covid-19, the flu or R.S.V. (respiratory syncytial virus), a sign that Covid-19 was increasingly becoming normalized in the public’s perception and joining the landscape of seasonal illnesses.

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