Hospitals are contacting Biden to announce an emergency regarding RSV

November 21, 2022: -Doctors are screaming at the Biden administration to declare an emergency to answer an “alarming increase” of children admitted with respiratory syncytial virus and flu in recent months.

In a letter this week, the Children’s Hospital Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have strictly told President Joe Biden and Health Secretary Xavier Becerra that “unprecedented levels” of RSV, a mixture of growing flu circulation which pushes some hospitals to the breaking point.

According to data from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, infants six months and younger are hospitalized with RSV at 11 times the rate noticed before the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the CDC, flu hospitalizations are high, with children and the elderly prone to catch the flu.

As respiratory viruses grow, over three-fourths of pediatric hospital beds are attracted across the U.S., stated to Health and Human Services Department data. Eleven states report that more than 80% of beds are complete, according to the data. Children’s hospitals in Arizona, the District of Columbia, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Texas and Utah are almost at capacity.

An emergency declaration would allow hospitals to free up beds and staffing to ensure children get the attention they need. Children’s Hospital Association CEO Mark Wietecha and AAP CEO Mark Del Monte stated to Biden and Becerra this week.

The president should announce an emergency under the Stafford Act or the National Emergencies Act, and the fitness secretary should also announce a public health emergency, Wietecha and Del Monte wrote.

“We need urgent funding support and flexibilities in the exact lines of what was provided to answer to COVID increases,” they wrote.