VA study shows COVID more severe than RSV, flu Primary outcomes included rates of 30-day hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and death, as well as the secondary outcome of long-term death extending through 180 days. CIDRAP

A large study of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that, during the 2022 to 2023 season, having COVID-19 was associated with more severe disease outcomes than flu or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. Differences became less pronounced, however, during the 2023 to 2024 season. 

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Flu activity remains high in most regions of the U.S. as a winter wave of respiratory illness sweeps across the country. The post-holiday surge in flu cases and hospitalizations is straining many hospitals, leading to overflowing emergency rooms and prompting some facilities to limit patient visitors.

This trend is expected to continue for the several more weeks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest FluView weekly surveillance report for the week ending Jan. 11.

Paxlovid tied to lower risk of hospital stay, heart problems, death in adults with kidney disease and COVID The antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) was linked to a lower risk of hospitalization within 30 days and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and death at 1 year in adults with COVID-19 and chronic kidney disease (CKD) or kidney failure, finds a study this week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. CIDRAP

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