COVID-19, RSV and flu: Up, up and way up

New data released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health shows hospital admissions for COVID-19 and RSV have again increased, and flu-related hospitalizations are soaring.

The latest confirmed hospitalization data shows notable increases of just over 30 percent in hospital admissions due to both COVID-19 and RSV during the last full week of December. Hospitalizations due to influenza jumped by about 150 percent during that same week.

The spike is causing backups and long waits at emergency departments across the state. The Minnesota Hospital Association called hospital leaders for a meeting Thursday to discuss the response.

“We are seeing a lot of patients in our intensive care units, in our medical units, and as a result of that, we are seeing the emergency departments be really busy and backed up,” MHA President and CEO Dr. Rahul Koranne said.

He said some hospitals are seeing patients in hallways as beds fill up. Ongoing staff shortages at some hospitals add to the strain.

“As our employees and our staff get these illnesses or have to take care of their family members, that does stretch our already thin resources,” Koranne said.

The number of flu-related hospitalizations in the state, nearly 600, far exceeds last year’s weekly peak of 282. The health department’s preliminary data for the week ending on Jan. 4 shows 722 people hospitalized due to influenza. Preliminary data is typically revised higher as more data comes in. 

Readily accessible data from the department goes back even farther for the Twin Cities seven-county region (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties). That series shows that the 366 hospitalized with flu in the week ending on Dec. 28 is the region’s highest since the peak of the 2022-2023 flu season, when 369 Minnesotans were hospitalized in the last full week of November. 

The latest data pushes Minnesota into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “high” activity category for influenza, up from being categorized as having “low” flu activity just one week earlier. Minnesota is currently in that category with 16 other states. Twenty-three states are in the “very high” category, leaving only ten — including neighboring North and South Dakota — in the minimal to moderate categories.

It’s not unusual to see a winter spike in infectious diseases, Hennepin Healthcare physician Erik Anderson said, but it can lead to longer waits.

“There’s limited beds in a trauma center like Hennepin, and so when people are really sick with influenza, it strains the system from being able to provide the care and other areas,” said Anderson, who works at the hospital’s Brooklyn Park clinic.

It’s also not as common to have norovirus in the mix, Anderson said. The Minnesota Department of Health said in December that around twice the usual number of norovirus outbreaks had been reported this winter.

Anderson said basic hygiene can go a long way, like washing hands and covering coughs. It’s also not too late to get a vaccine for COVID-19 and influenza, since the spike in the illnesses will likely last through the winter. And wearing a mask is a good strategy too, he said, especially in crowded places.

While hospitalizations due to influenza now outpace those due to COVID-19, the latter is also on the rise. More than twice as many Minnesotans ended up in the hospital with COVID-19 during the last week in December as was the case during the last week in November.  

Worse, according to the latest data from the University of Minnesota’s ongoing Wastewater Surveillance Study, COVID-19 levels measured in the state’s wastewater are higher than they have been since February of 2023. Increases in detection of COVID-19 in wastewater typically precedes increases in cases and hospitalizations. 

Hospitalizations due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which mainly impacts infants and toddlers but can also be a problem among older adults, are also up, with 126 admissions in the last week of December, but remain lower than last year’s weekly peak of 215. 

Koranne said people who don’t need emergency care for their symptoms should consider alternatives before going to an emergency room.

“If you do not need urgent or emergency care, please do utilize other ways of taking care of yourself — primary care providers, virtual visits, urgent care clinics — instead of coming into our very, very busy emergency departments,” Koranne said. 

Koranne said the hospital association plans to convene hospital leaders for more meetings as the spike in illnesses continues. 

• Milk from Minnesota dairy farms to undergo mandatory testing for bird flu
• Hey, meat eaters. Your gut health can rival a vegan’s. Here’s how
• Minneapolis man charged with stealing $7.3 million in Medicaid fraud scheme