‘Viral jambalaya’: Early flu adding to woes for US hospitals

A rapidly intensifying flu season is straining U.S. hospitals already overburdened with patients sick from other respiratory infections. The government reported Friday that more than half the states are reporting high or very high levels of flu, unusually high for this early in the season. This is happening when children’s hospitals already are dealing with a surge of illnesses from RSV, a common cause of coldlike symptoms that can be serious for infants and the elderly. And COVID-19 is still sending people to the hospital. One Atlanta ER doctor describes the mix as a “viral jambalaya.”