当你在假日季装饰门厅和出门远行时,采取预防措施保护自己免受四种传染病的侵袭,可以降低将疾病带入新一年的几率。
冬季,流感病毒、新冠病毒、呼吸道合胞病毒和诺如病毒正在全美范围内肆虐,你可能已经在网上或谈话中听闻了“四重疫情”这个词(前三种病毒有时被称为“三重疫情”)。虽然这一非官方术语(指四种疾病共同流行)让人有一种末日来临的感觉,但四重威胁与以往的呼吸道病毒流行季并无本质上的不同。
美国国家传染病基金会(National Foundation for Infectious Diseases)医学主任小罗伯特·霍普金斯(Robert Hopkins Jr.)博士在接受《财富》杂志采访时指出:“所有类型的病毒都在美国传播,只是它们对不同地区的影响略有不同。我并不希望引发公众的恐慌情绪,但我想强调的是,如果你尚未接种疫苗,且符合接种条件——这意味着所有年龄在6个月及以上的人士均应接种新冠疫苗和流感疫苗。”
霍普金斯强调,75岁及以上的成年人、60至74岁患有某些慢性疾病的成年人以及孕晚期的准父母也可以接种呼吸道合胞病毒疫苗。“我们有防御措施,只需要使用它们即可。”
范德比尔特大学医学中心(Vanderbilt University Medical Center)传染病科教授威廉·沙夫纳(William Schaffner)博士将每年的这个时候称为呼吸道病毒疫苗接种季。他说,及时接种疫苗是你能给自己及所爱之人的最好的节日礼物。
沙夫纳在接受《财富》杂志采访时表示:“本杰明·富兰克林(Benjamin Franklin)所言极是:‘一分预防胜过十分治疗。’今年让我们尽己所能预防重症。目前,我们的疫苗接种覆盖率还有待提升。”
但是,对于尚无疫苗的诺如病毒(又称“冬季呕吐病”),我们该如何预防呢?这时,手部卫生就显得尤为重要。
“务必充分利用肥皂和水来进行清洁,”沙夫纳说,并指出仅依靠含酒精的洗手液是无法战胜诺如病毒的。“这种病毒传染性极强,你可能会在环境中通过手指感染上它,随后一旦接触口鼻,就会实现病毒的传播。”
霍普金斯强调,你在疫情早期采取的公共卫生措施同样有助于避免疾病的侵袭。
霍普金斯说:“在咳嗽时,用袖子或手帕遮挡而非直接用手。尽量与病患保持距离,一旦自己生病,则需留在家中静养,并联系专业医护人员了解是否需要进行检测和接受对症治疗。”
“保持身体活跃极为重要,尤其是参与户外活动。在饮食与饮水方面也要保持健康。依据个人健康状况,在人群密集场所确实需要格外谨慎,因为这样的环境往往是病毒在人与人之间传播的天然温床。”
美国大多数州的流感活动有所上升
美国疾病控制与预防中心(CDC)隶属于美国卫生及公共服务部(HHS),该部门在绘制疾病分布图时,常将美国划分为10个区域。截至12月7日当周,全美范围内流感样疾病的活动水平均有所上升,唯独8区(涵盖科罗拉多州、达科他州、蒙大拿州、犹他州及怀俄明州)的流感样疾病活动保持在正常水平。
沙夫纳说:"在过去的六周里,流感发病率确实在上升,而且因流感住院治疗的人数每周都在增加。这一现象不仅发生在我所居住的地区,而且已蔓延至全美各地。”
美国疾病控制与预防中心的记录显示,截至12月7日的三周内,全美范围内感染甲型H3流感病毒的病例占多数。
霍普金斯表示,今年接种流感疫苗的人群比例“非常令人失望”。根据美国疾病控制与预防中心的数据,截至12月7日当周,40.8%的成人和40.8%的儿童完成了疫苗接种,而在去年同期,40.6%的成人和44.2%的儿童完成了疫苗接种。霍普金斯指出,即便你错过了非正式的“万圣节前完成疫苗接种”的最后期限,也无需担心。
霍普金斯说:"现在接种还不算太晚。当我们面临风险时,并不意味着时机不当。我当然更希望人们能够尽早接种疫苗,但我不会因过分苛求完美而错失良机。"
大多数成年人尚未接种最新的新冠疫苗
很难相信我们即将迎来由新冠病毒侵入美国所引发的疫情的五周年纪念日。尽管新冠肺炎疫情已成为地方性流行病,但它仍是高度传染性疾病,其长期后果正在显现。未接种疫苗的人群罹患重症、住院和死亡的风险更高。2024-2025年新疫苗的接种率不太理想,部分原因在于公众对疫情持续不断的疲惫感。
美国疾病控制与预防中心估计,截至12月7日当周,只有五分之一(21%)的成年人接种了最新疫苗。尽管如此,这一接种率仍略高于去年同期2023-2024年疫苗接种率(16.9%)。只有10.6%的儿童接种了疫苗,与去年同期的10.2%基本持平。美国疾病控制与预防中心建议所有年龄在6个月及以上的人士接种针对本季变种的疫苗,即使他们已经感染过新冠或接种了旧版本的疫苗。如果你的免疫系统功能受损,请咨询医生,了解自己是否符合接种额外的加强针的条件。
新冠病毒感染的夏季高峰可能已经过去——截至8月10日当周,病例阳性率达到17.8%的峰值,但最近几周,全美范围内的阳性率已开始回升。截至12月7日当周,全美阳性率为5.4%,高于三周前的4.2%。在截至12月7日的四周内,检测阳性率最高的地区是8区(6%)和6区(5.2%),其中包括阿肯色州、路易斯安那州、新墨西哥州、俄克拉荷马州和得克萨斯州。
虽然快速新冠检测现已在商店和网上广泛销售,但如今在COVIDtests.gov上为您的家庭免费订购四次检测还为时不晚。
只有不到一半的75岁以上成年人接种了呼吸道合胞病毒疫苗
与每年需接种的新冠疫苗和流感疫苗有所不同,新型的呼吸道合胞病毒疫苗至少在目前阶段只需一针即可产生保护效果。首款获得美国食品药品监督管理局(FDA)批准的呼吸道合胞病毒疫苗Arexvy,由位列《财富》世界500强的欧洲企业葛兰素史克(GSK)研发生产,直到2023年年中才上市。然而,尽管目前已有三种呼吸道合胞病毒疫苗问世,但其接种进展却相对缓慢。
弗吉尼亚州福尔斯彻奇伊诺瓦费尔法克斯医院的传染病专家苏亚塔·安巴尔达(Sujata Ambardar)博士之前告诉《财富》杂志:"[呼吸道合胞病毒]可能非常危险,但人们并没有意识到它本身也是一种病毒。他们通常会想到新冠病毒、流感病毒和其他病毒。”
美国疾病控制与预防中心的记录显示,截至12月7日当周,75岁及以上的成年人中,只有不到一半(42.5%)接种了疫苗,而60至74岁的成年人中,只有三分之一(33%)接种了疫苗。
截至12月7日当周,检测阳性率为7.6%,低于去年同期的12%。在美国东部沿海地区和中南部的大部分地区,这一比例至少为11%,甚至延伸到了远至西部的新墨西哥州。3区(特拉华州、哥伦比亚特区、马里兰州、宾夕法尼亚州和弗吉尼亚州)的检测阳性率最高(16.4%)。
诺如病毒在美国的传播尚未达到英国疫情的水平
自初秋以来,诺如病毒感染病例出现了显著增长。截至12月7日当周,检测阳性率创下本季新高(18.4%),而截至9月7日当周,这一数字仅为6%。
诺如病毒的追踪工作并非由美国卫生及公共服务部负责,而是由人口普查区进行。截至12月7日当周,4区的检测阳性率最高(21%)。该地区覆盖了从科罗拉多州到加利福尼亚州再到夏威夷的西部地区。
沙夫纳说:“目前英国爆发了大规模疫情,他们对此深感忧虑。我们有零星的诺如病毒感染病例,但情况并不严重……我们预计会有更多的诺如病毒疫情出现,但目前尚未观察到像它们那样急剧增长的趋势。”
沙夫纳补充道:“假日旅行已经拉开帷幕,并将变得非常密集。我们将举行许多节日聚会、家庭团聚等活动。这是上述四种病毒在人与人之间传播的最佳环境。”(财富中文网)
译者:中慧言-王芳
当你在假日季装饰门厅和出门远行时,采取预防措施保护自己免受四种传染病的侵袭,可以降低将疾病带入新一年的几率。
冬季,流感病毒、新冠病毒、呼吸道合胞病毒和诺如病毒正在全美范围内肆虐,你可能已经在网上或谈话中听闻了“四重疫情”这个词(前三种病毒有时被称为“三重疫情”)。虽然这一非官方术语(指四种疾病共同流行)让人有一种末日来临的感觉,但四重威胁与以往的呼吸道病毒流行季并无本质上的不同。
美国国家传染病基金会(National Foundation for Infectious Diseases)医学主任小罗伯特·霍普金斯(Robert Hopkins Jr.)博士在接受《财富》杂志采访时指出:“所有类型的病毒都在美国传播,只是它们对不同地区的影响略有不同。我并不希望引发公众的恐慌情绪,但我想强调的是,如果你尚未接种疫苗,且符合接种条件——这意味着所有年龄在6个月及以上的人士均应接种新冠疫苗和流感疫苗。”
霍普金斯强调,75岁及以上的成年人、60至74岁患有某些慢性疾病的成年人以及孕晚期的准父母也可以接种呼吸道合胞病毒疫苗。“我们有防御措施,只需要使用它们即可。”
范德比尔特大学医学中心(Vanderbilt University Medical Center)传染病科教授威廉·沙夫纳(William Schaffner)博士将每年的这个时候称为呼吸道病毒疫苗接种季。他说,及时接种疫苗是你能给自己及所爱之人的最好的节日礼物。
沙夫纳在接受《财富》杂志采访时表示:“本杰明·富兰克林(Benjamin Franklin)所言极是:‘一分预防胜过十分治疗。’今年让我们尽己所能预防重症。目前,我们的疫苗接种覆盖率还有待提升。”
但是,对于尚无疫苗的诺如病毒(又称“冬季呕吐病”),我们该如何预防呢?这时,手部卫生就显得尤为重要。
“务必充分利用肥皂和水来进行清洁,”沙夫纳说,并指出仅依靠含酒精的洗手液是无法战胜诺如病毒的。“这种病毒传染性极强,你可能会在环境中通过手指感染上它,随后一旦接触口鼻,就会实现病毒的传播。”
霍普金斯强调,你在疫情早期采取的公共卫生措施同样有助于避免疾病的侵袭。
霍普金斯说:“在咳嗽时,用袖子或手帕遮挡而非直接用手。尽量与病患保持距离,一旦自己生病,则需留在家中静养,并联系专业医护人员了解是否需要进行检测和接受对症治疗。”
“保持身体活跃极为重要,尤其是参与户外活动。在饮食与饮水方面也要保持健康。依据个人健康状况,在人群密集场所确实需要格外谨慎,因为这样的环境往往是病毒在人与人之间传播的天然温床。”
接种疫苗有助于抵御流感病毒、新冠病毒以及呼吸道合胞病毒的感染。
美国大多数州的流感活动有所上升
美国疾病控制与预防中心(CDC)隶属于美国卫生及公共服务部(HHS),该部门在绘制疾病分布图时,常将美国划分为10个区域。截至12月7日当周,全美范围内流感样疾病的活动水平均有所上升,唯独8区(涵盖科罗拉多州、达科他州、蒙大拿州、犹他州及怀俄明州)的流感样疾病活动保持在正常水平。
沙夫纳说:"在过去的六周里,流感发病率确实在上升,而且因流感住院治疗的人数每周都在增加。这一现象不仅发生在我所居住的地区,而且已蔓延至全美各地。”
美国疾病控制与预防中心的记录显示,截至12月7日的三周内,全美范围内感染甲型H3流感病毒的病例占多数。
霍普金斯表示,今年接种流感疫苗的人群比例“非常令人失望”。根据美国疾病控制与预防中心的数据,截至12月7日当周,40.8%的成人和40.8%的儿童完成了疫苗接种,而在去年同期,40.6%的成人和44.2%的儿童完成了疫苗接种。霍普金斯指出,即便你错过了非正式的“万圣节前完成疫苗接种”的最后期限,也无需担心。
霍普金斯说:"现在接种还不算太晚。当我们面临风险时,并不意味着时机不当。我当然更希望人们能够尽早接种疫苗,但我不会因过分苛求完美而错失良机。"
大多数成年人尚未接种最新的新冠疫苗
很难相信我们即将迎来由新冠病毒侵入美国所引发的疫情的五周年纪念日。尽管新冠肺炎疫情已成为地方性流行病,但它仍是高度传染性疾病,其长期后果正在显现。未接种疫苗的人群罹患重症、住院和死亡的风险更高。2024-2025年新疫苗的接种率不太理想,部分原因在于公众对疫情持续不断的疲惫感。
美国疾病控制与预防中心估计,截至12月7日当周,只有五分之一(21%)的成年人接种了最新疫苗。尽管如此,这一接种率仍略高于去年同期2023-2024年疫苗接种率(16.9%)。只有10.6%的儿童接种了疫苗,与去年同期的10.2%基本持平。美国疾病控制与预防中心建议所有年龄在6个月及以上的人士接种针对本季变种的疫苗,即使他们已经感染过新冠或接种了旧版本的疫苗。如果你的免疫系统功能受损,请咨询医生,了解自己是否符合接种额外的加强针的条件。
新冠病毒感染的夏季高峰可能已经过去——截至8月10日当周,病例阳性率达到17.8%的峰值,但最近几周,全美范围内的阳性率已开始回升。截至12月7日当周,全美阳性率为5.4%,高于三周前的4.2%。在截至12月7日的四周内,检测阳性率最高的地区是8区(6%)和6区(5.2%),其中包括阿肯色州、路易斯安那州、新墨西哥州、俄克拉荷马州和得克萨斯州。
虽然快速新冠检测现已在商店和网上广泛销售,但如今在COVIDtests.gov上为您的家庭免费订购四次检测还为时不晚。
只有不到一半的75岁以上成年人接种了呼吸道合胞病毒疫苗
与每年需接种的新冠疫苗和流感疫苗有所不同,新型的呼吸道合胞病毒疫苗至少在目前阶段只需一针即可产生保护效果。首款获得美国食品药品监督管理局(FDA)批准的呼吸道合胞病毒疫苗Arexvy,由位列《财富》世界500强的欧洲企业葛兰素史克(GSK)研发生产,直到2023年年中才上市。然而,尽管目前已有三种呼吸道合胞病毒疫苗问世,但其接种进展却相对缓慢。
弗吉尼亚州福尔斯彻奇伊诺瓦费尔法克斯医院的传染病专家苏亚塔·安巴尔达(Sujata Ambardar)博士之前告诉《财富》杂志:"[呼吸道合胞病毒]可能非常危险,但人们并没有意识到它本身也是一种病毒。他们通常会想到新冠病毒、流感病毒和其他病毒。”
美国疾病控制与预防中心的记录显示,截至12月7日当周,75岁及以上的成年人中,只有不到一半(42.5%)接种了疫苗,而60至74岁的成年人中,只有三分之一(33%)接种了疫苗。
截至12月7日当周,检测阳性率为7.6%,低于去年同期的12%。在美国东部沿海地区和中南部的大部分地区,这一比例至少为11%,甚至延伸到了远至西部的新墨西哥州。3区(特拉华州、哥伦比亚特区、马里兰州、宾夕法尼亚州和弗吉尼亚州)的检测阳性率最高(16.4%)。
诺如病毒在美国的传播尚未达到英国疫情的水平
自初秋以来,诺如病毒感染病例出现了显著增长。截至12月7日当周,检测阳性率创下本季新高(18.4%),而截至9月7日当周,这一数字仅为6%。
诺如病毒的追踪工作并非由美国卫生及公共服务部负责,而是由人口普查区进行。截至12月7日当周,4区的检测阳性率最高(21%)。该地区覆盖了从科罗拉多州到加利福尼亚州再到夏威夷的西部地区。
沙夫纳说:“目前英国爆发了大规模疫情,他们对此深感忧虑。我们有零星的诺如病毒感染病例,但情况并不严重……我们预计会有更多的诺如病毒疫情出现,但目前尚未观察到像它们那样急剧增长的趋势。”
沙夫纳补充道:“假日旅行已经拉开帷幕,并将变得非常密集。我们将举行许多节日聚会、家庭团聚等活动。这是上述四种病毒在人与人之间传播的最佳环境。”(财富中文网)
译者:中慧言-王芳
As you deck the halls and traverse afar this holiday season, taking precautions to protect yourself from a quartet of infectious diseases can lessen your odds of bringing an illness into the new year.
Flu, COVID, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and norovirus are making their winter rounds nationwide, and you may have heard the term “quad-demic” pop up online or in conversation (the first three are sometimes called a “triple-demic”). While the unofficial term for the four maladies circulating in tandem evokes a sense of impending doom, the quadruple threat isn’t so different from respiratory virus seasons past.
“All of the viruses are here, it’s just they’re affecting different areas a little bit differently,” Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr., medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases tells Fortune. “I don’t want to panic people, but I would say if you haven’t been vaccinated and you’re eligible for vaccination—that means everybody 6 months of age and older—get that COVID shot, get that flu shot.”
An RSV vaccine is also available for adults 75 and older, adults 60 to 74 with certain chronic medical conditions, and expectant parents late in pregnancy, Hopkins stresses. “We have tools, we just have to use them.”
Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, refers to this time of year respiratory virus vaccination season. Getting up to date on your immunizations is the best holiday present you can give yourself and your loved ones, he says.
“Benjamin Franklin had it right: ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’” Schaffner tells Fortune. “Let’s do what we can to prevent serious illness this year. We’re under-vaccinating.”
But how can we protect against norovirus, also known as “winter vomiting disease,” for which there’s no vaccine? Here’s where hand hygiene reigns supreme.
“Make ample use of soap and water,” Schaffner says, noting that alcohol-based hand sanitizer alone doesn’t defeat norovirus. “It’s highly contagious and you can probably pick it up on the environment, on your fingers, and then when you touch your nose and mouth, that’s how the transmission occurs.”
The same public health measures you likely adopted during the early days of COVID can help stave off illness, too, Hopkins stresses.
“It’s important to cover your coughs, ideally with your sleeve or with a handkerchief, not your hands,” Hopkins says. “Stay away from people who are sick, stay home when you’re ill, contact your health care professional about whether you need to get tested and about symptomatic measures.
“It’s important to stay active, particularly outdoor activities. Stay healthy as far as your eating and your fluid intake. And depending on what your health status is, you may really want to be careful about being in crowds, because that’s a natural breeding ground for those viruses to spread from person to person.”
Vaccines are available to help prevent the flu, COVID, and RSV.
CHARDAY PENN—GETTY IMAGES
Flu activity elevated in most U.S. states
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), of which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a part, often breaks the country up into 10 regions when mapping illnesses. The week ended Dec. 7, activity of influenza-like illness was elevated nationwide except in Region 8—Colorado, the Dakotas, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming—where the level was normal.
“Flu definitely has been picking up over the last six weeks and continues to increase week by week in terms of hospitalizations of flu,” Schaffner says, “not only in my neck of the woods, but around the country.”
Nationwide, the A (H3) strain of influenza accounted for the plurality of infections the three weeks ended Dec. 7, CDC records show.
A “very disappointing” segment of the population has been vaccinated against the flu this year, Hopkins says. According to the CDC, 40.8% of adults and 40.8% of children had been immunized as of the week ended Dec. 7. At that time last year, 40.6% of adults and 44.2% of children had been protected. If you missed the unofficial “vaccine before Halloween” deadline to get your flu shot, worry not, Hopkins says.
“It’s not too late,” Hopkins says. “It is not a bad time when we’ve got risk in front of us. And I would certainly prefer that people were vaccinated earlier, but I’m not going to make perfection the enemy of the good.”
Most adults haven’t gotten updated COVID vaccine
It’s hard to believe we’re approaching the five-year anniversary of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, worming its way into the U.S. Though COVID is now endemic, it remains a highly infectious disease whose long-term consequences are unfurling. Unvaccinated individuals have a higher risk of severe infection, hospitalization, and death, and thanks in part to lingering COVID fatigue, uptake of the new 2024–25 vaccine has been less than ideal.
Only one in five adults (21%) had gotten the updated jab as of the week ended Dec. 7, the CDC estimates. Still, uptake was slightly higher than that of the 2023–24 vaccine (16.9%) at the same time last year. Just 10.6% of children had been vaccinated, on par with last year’s 10.2%. The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older get the vaccine targeting this season’s variants—even if they’ve had COVID or received an older version of the vaccine. If you have a compromised immune system, ask your doctor about your eligibility for extra booster doses.
The summer surge in COVID infections may be in the rearview mirror—case positivity peaked at 17.8% the week ended Aug. 10—but the national positivity rate has begun to creep back up in recent weeks. The rate was 5.4% the week ended Dec. 7, up from 4.2% three weeks earlier. Throughout the four weeks ended Dec. 7, test positivity was highest in Region 8 (6%) and Region 6 (5.2%), which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
While rapid COVID tests are now widely available in stores and online, it’s not too late to order four free tests for your household at COVIDtests.gov.
Less than half of adults 75+ have received RSV jab
Unlike annual COVID and flu shots, the newer RSV vaccine—for now at least—is a one and done. The first FDA-approved RSV vaccine, Arexvy, manufactured by Fortune 500 Europe company GSK, didn’t become available until mid-2023 and uptake of the now three available vaccines has been slow.
“[RSV] can be very risky, but people are not as aware of it as a virus in itself,” Dr. Sujata Ambardar, an infectious disease specialist at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., previously told Fortune. “They think of COVID, flu, and other viruses.”
Less than half of adults 75 and older (42.5%) had been vaccinated as of the week ended Dec. 7, compared to a third (33%) of adults 60 to 74, CDC records show.
Test positivity was 7.6% the week ended Dec. 7, down from 12% at the same time last year. This rate was at least 11% across most of the Eastern Seaboard and South Central U.S., as far west as New Mexico. Region 3—Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Virginias—had the highest test positivity (16.4%).
Norovirus spread in U.S. hasn’t reached level of U.K. outbreak
Norovirus infections have been largely increasing since early fall. Test positivity hit a season high (18.4%) the week ended Dec. 7, compared to 6% the week ended Sept. 7.
Norovirus is tracked in Census regions rather than HHS ones. The week ended Dec. 7, test positivity was highest (21%) in Region 4, which covers the West, from Colorado to California to Hawaii.
“There’s a large outbreak in the U.K. at the moment, in Britain, and they’re very concerned about it,” Schaffner says. “We’ve had scattered reports of norovirus but nothing huge…we anticipate that we’ll get more of norovirus but we haven’t had the comparable increase that they’ve had.”
Schaffner adds, “Holiday travel has already started and will become intense. We’ll have many holiday parties, family reunions, and the like. These are optimal circumstances for all of these viruses, all four, to spread from person to person.”