“Have you heard of the crazy new virus that sends kids to the hospital?”
As pediatricians, one of us a mother of a young child, we experienced a wave of shock the first time we heard this question. After living through COVID-19, and still experiencing the myriad harmful side effects of the pandemic on children, we are both overwhelmed at the prospect of a new viral Big Bad. Haven’t the children (and, by extension, the health workers who care for them) been through enough?
Finding out that this “new” viral surge was in fact a reference to “tripledemia” (an increase in pediatric RSV, influenza, COVID infections) was initially a relief. It was reassuring to know that there weren’t any new mystery microbes, and it was reassuring to finally see coverage of just how serious common cold viruses can be for children. The stories of the surge in sick children were valid and reminded us of the countless children we have seen in our hospital practice over the years during this season: the 5-day-old with RSV intubated just hours after hospital admission , 10- A 3-year-old who did not get a flu shot ended up in the intensive care unit with the flu and life-threatening pneumonia, the 3-year-old was hospitalized for prolonged fever and heart inflammation from COVID.
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