News: Almost 40% of U.S. households affected by ‘Tripledemic,’ survey says

A new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation showed about 40% of United States households during the holiday season saw at least one person got sick with one of the trifecta of respiratory illnesses referred to as the “tripledemic”: the flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). These three viruses surged during the holidays, propelling hospitalization rates for the flu and RSV to record levels. In the survey results, 27% of households reported someone sick with the flu, 15% with a COVID-19 infection, and 10% with an RSV infection, Medscape News reported.

The data was collected through online or phone responses from 1,234 United States adults from January 17 to January 24, 2023. It also showed 75% reported trying to get over-the-counter medicine to treat their illness. Among them, one in five said they had trouble finding those medicines amid shortages. Parents were also more likely to report trouble finding over-the-counter medicines than non-parents.

Among people sick with the flu, 16% sought the medication Tamiflu, while 14% of people sick with COVID-19 sought the medication Paxlovid. About one in 10 people had not heard of Tamiflu or Paxlovid.

Though the onslaught prompted health officials to ask the public to take precautions like getting flu and COVID vaccines, the uptake of flu shots was average for kids (51%) and slightly up among adults (46%), while COVID vaccine uptake was at just 16% for the latest booster. Nearly half of those surveyed said they took at least one protective measure, however, such as wearing a mask in public, avoiding large gatherings, traveling less, or avoiding dining indoors at restaurants. Wearing a mask was the most common precaution, at 31%.

Thankfully, the "tripledemic" viruses have all declined since the holiday season ended. RSV cases are down from over 20,000 per week in November 2022 to less than 1,000 per week in February 2023. COVID-19 cases and flu cases also continue to decline, though the total hospitalization case count for the entire flu season is still on track to be one of the highest in recent years.

Editor’s note: To read Medscape News’ coverage of this story, click here. To read the full results of the Kaiser Family Foundation survey, click here.