WNY faces Tripledemic with flu, RSV, and Covid-19 on the rise

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- "Unfortunately, it's a perfect storm for three very serious contagious respiratory pathogens descending into our community" says Dr. Gale Burstein, Erie County Health Commissioner.

Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein is talking about the rise in Covid, influenza, and RSV cases in Western New York.

"This past week we actually saw a 70 percent increase in COVID cases compared to the previous week. So, we know we have more COVID," said Burstein.

That's 889 new Covid cases compared to 524 the previous week. Burstein says that number may not show the full picture.

"These reported cases are just the tip of the iceberg, because many people use home tests to test themselves and those are not reportable," said Burstein.

Just up the road in Niagara County, Dan Stapleton, Niagara County Public Health Director was asked “On a scale of 1-10 how concerned or worried are you about this flu season?”. “Ten!" Stapleton says.

Niagara County Public Health Director Dan Stapleton says flu cases across the state have skyrocketed. He says the flu season got off to an early start catching many people vulnerable to the virus.

"We have not been exposed like we might have been in previous years because of our precautions from COVID. But that also means our immune system is not as strong as we would like it to be for this type of virus," Stapleton says.

The respiratory illness that's on the rise, RSV or Respiratory Syncytial Virus. Dr. Burstein says RSV is a common virus that affects people in the winter but due to pandemic children may be more susceptible to the virus.

"So, we have three years of children who haven't been exposed that are now all getting exposed at once and don't have any protective antibodies from previous infections. So, we're seeing a large number of RSV cases among children," Burstein says.

New York State is sending ten respirators to Oishei Children's Hospital where rooms are full of kids being treated for RSV.

Meantime, Stapleton and Burstein say despite the increases there is something we can do to stay healthy and stop the spread of the viruses, get vaccinated.

"We have a good level of immunity in our community with previous infections and people being immunized. However, if you want to be protected against COVID 19 illness, or influenza illness, you should get immunized. You can't really rely on the community's immunity to keep you safe," Burstein says.