The Brief
- Tampa Bay area hospitals are seeing a big surge in kids showing up with RSV, flu and other respiratory illnesses.
- Pediatric ER doctors at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg said the numbers of cases doubled or tripled what they saw at this same time last year.
- Doctors recommend the flu shot and the RSV vaccine. The FDA approved the RSV vaccine for pregnant women as well. Doctors encourage good handwashing and masking if you do not feel well.
TAMPA, Fla. – No one wants to see the smallest family members down for the count, but Tampa Bay area doctors said more kids are coming in sick this holiday season, some forced to stay in the hospital with respiratory illnesses.
What they’re saying:
“We ran our numbers at the beginning of this month, and our influenza was up 300% when compared to last year,” Dr. Ebony Hunter, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, said. “Our RSV was up 100%, and our other respiratory viruses that we could track were up over 200%.”…