DALLAS -- Now that masking rules have been relaxed and school schedules have largely returned to their pre-pandemic normals, children are finally catching the viruses they hadn’t previously contracted, health experts say.
Pediatric health care systems reported high levels of respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, and influenza over the last month as children experience their first fall without COVID-induced public health measures.
Dallas-based Children’s Health saw 316 RSV cases in the week ending Oct. 25, compared to only 73 cases in the same week in 2021. Cook Children’s in Fort Worth reported 246 cases of the respiratory illness from Oct. 16 to Oct. 22, a significant increase from the about 50 cases seen during the same period last year. Patients with RSV currently fill half of the beds in Cook’s pediatric ICU.
