The U.S. may or may not be headed for a “tripledemic” scenario like it saw last year—one in which three main pathogens drive up illnesses, hospitalizations, and general misery.
The term "tripledemic" was a misnomer, experts say, as far more than three viruses—COVID, flu, and RSV—were responsible for the surge in sickness. So were influenza-like illnesses like rhinoviruses, respiratory adenoviruses, and other common coronaviruses, to name a few. Certain bacterial infections, like mycoplasma pneumonia and group A streptococcus, can also cause wintertime infirmity.
