A large study of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that, during the 2022 to 2023 season, having COVID-19 was associated with more severe disease outcomes than flu or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. Differences became less pronounced, however, during the 2023 to 2024 season.
In its regular weekly snapshot on respiratory virus activity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that illness levels remain high, mainly due to impacts from the flu season.
Using current estimates of US long-COVID burden (assuming the probability of long COVID is 6% and symptoms last 1 year), cases cost an average of $2.01 billion annually. The economic burden of long COVID already surpasses that of carpal tunnel, Lyme disease, and psoriasis, the authors said, and is likely to continue to grow.
Flu activity remains high in most regions of the U.S. as a winter wave of respiratory illness sweeps across the country. The post-holiday surge in flu cases and hospitalizations is straining many hospitals, leading to overflowing emergency rooms and prompting some facilities to limit patient visitors.
This trend is expected to continue for the several more weeks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest FluView weekly surveillance report for the week ending Jan. 11.
