It seems like everyone knows someone who is either sick right now or just getting over something.
In just the last month, health officials say they've seen a significant increase in seasonal illnesses across the country.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 24 states are currently experiencing "high" to "very high" levels of respiratory-illness activity, which is measured weekly by the number people visiting healthcare providers and emergency rooms with fevers, coughs and sore throats.
States considered "very high" include Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. States with a "high" level of illness include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming.
Officials say the likely culprits are to blame, with COVID, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) all circulating widely. As of Dec. 14, hospitalizations among all age groups were up 200% for influenza, 51% for COVID-19, and 60% for RSV, according to the CDC.
"The amount of respiratory illness -- fever plus cough or sore throat -- causing people to seek healthcare is elevated or increasing across most areas of the country," the CDC said.
Test positivity, emergency department visits and hospitalizations for COVID-19 remain elevated nationally. According to the CDC, 38 states reported an increase in new hospital admissions of COVID patients last week.
Flu activity is also elevated and increasing in most parts of the country, with emergency department visits especially spiking among school-aged children. The CDC estimates that there have been at least 5.3 million illnesses, 54,000 hospitalizations and 3,200 deaths from flu so far this season.
RSV activity also remains elevated and continues to increase in many areas of the country, though the CDC says slight decreases have been observed in Southeastern states. Hospitalization rates remain elevated, and continue to increase, among young children and older adults.
As for why more people are getting sick lately, experts say during the winter, with people moving indoors and in close proximity to each other around the holidays, transmission increases.
"We're now indoors and we have our heaters going. We're recirculating the same air," Dr. Brian Lamb, an internal medicine doctor with Allegheny Health Network, told CBS News. "And so we're being exposed to a lot more of those viruses. That's why we tend to see this uptick."
At the same time, national vaccination coverage for COVID-19, influenza and RSV vaccines remains low for children and adults, leaving more people suspectable to falling ill.
"Low vaccination rates, coupled with ongoing increases in national and international respiratory disease activity caused by multiple pathogens, including influenza viruses, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), and RSV, could lead to more severe disease and increased healthcare capacity strain in the coming weeks," the CDC warned on Dec. 14.
Influenza, COVID-19 and RSV can result in severe disease, especially among unvaccinated persons. Infants, older adults, pregnant people, and people with certain underlying medical conditions remain at increased risk of severe COVID-19 and influenza disease. Infants and older adults remain at highest risk of severe RSV disease; it is the leading cause of infant hospitalization in the United States.
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