The combination of COVID, flu and RSV reared up as a "tripledemic" last fall, pushing already taxed medical professionals, facilities and medication supplies to the brink. Now, kids are back in school now after the holiday break, and some healthcare workers are preparing for cases to ramp up again.
Dr. Maya Moody, a pediatrician at Mercy Children's Hospital, tells KMOX that the three viruses circulating in the fall made for a busy season.
"All of our children's hospitals, our urgent cares, our emergency rooms, our doctors offices were quite busy and really…pushing to that brink," Dr. Moody said. "There have been some comments among us on social media that this was our March 2020. We had all of these respiratory viruses hitting all at once, ones that can be more severe and end up with children in the hospital."
As kids go back to school, parents may be worried about sniffles and sneezes their kids come home with. Dr. Moody explained what would constitute an ER or urgent care visit, or what would constitute a visit to a primary care pediatrician.
"Our bread and butter of pediatrics is cough, cold, runny noses, body aches, and not feeling well," she said. "But you're really trying to understand your kid, making sure that you're doing the best to keep them healthy with those flu vaccines or COVID vaccines. So the prime that immune system, and also just good hand washing and other mitigation factors."
Prevention is key, she pointed out, especially given the amoxicillin shortage currently going on. Plus, respiratory infections can often lead to ear infections, pneumonia, or other complications. She added that masks are appropriate if you're around a high-risk person or are feeling under the weather. However, she noted, many kids in school aren't used to wearing masks anymore.
"That's why I think it's important for us as adults to do that modeling for the children and to normalize that," she said. "We know that the person who is sick wearing the mask is the most beneficial, next being the person who could get sick wearing a mask."
Hear more from Dr. Moody about how to keep your school-age kids healthy amid circulating respiratory viruses:
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