LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A trifecta of respiratory illnesses has been predicted and is currently hitting different parts of the country. The trifecta is a combination of COVID-19, the flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). These viruses are infecting children and adults as they spread through communities at the same time.

Doctors in Michigan started warning about the coming respiratory illness storm back in October, saying that they could surge with the upcoming cold weather. Dr. John Brooks from McLaren Health had said, “We’re going to have lots of people sick with three different viruses that, regretfully, look a lot alike in many people.”

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Sparrow Health has said that they’ve had children waiting in the emergency department for hours for a bed and other hospitals were ordering extra cribs for their pediatric units. The U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services reports that 78% of pediatric hospital beds are full. The DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids is currently reported as redistributing nurses and staff from other units to deal with their virus surge.

However, amid the stories of a tsunami of sick people at crowded hospitals, the CDC reports in their latest data release that Michigan is one of four states to have a minimal or low level of illness. The other three states are New Hampshire, Vermont and Alaska. The Hill reports that the figures reported include “patients who have a respiratory illness with a fever and a cough or sore throat, not necessarily laboratory-confirmed cases of the flu.”

The data for the CDC’s report is for week ending November 26th so it remains to be seen if there has been a large enough increase from that time to push Michigan into a higher level of illness. Lagging reports from the CDC put us about two weeks out of real time reporting so information coming from Michigan hospitals sounding the alarm on the virus could provide a more accurate picture.

As people get sick, they are, not surprisingly, looking for answers on how they can know what virus they have once they are ill. The CDC reports that the flu and COVID-19 share similar symptoms although a symptom unique to COVID-19 is the loss of taste or smell. Both viruses can cause fevers, chills, headaches, cough, muscle soreness, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath, runny nose and sore throat. RSV can affect adults but is more dangerous for the elderly and infants. Symptoms are similar to the common cold but can include fevers and wheezing. For a chart to compare virus symptoms, ABC News provides information from the Mayo Clinic in this article. However, the best way to find out what virus a person has is to get tested by a local health care provider.

Unfortunately, it’s not just viruses that are causing long waits in emergency rooms. It’s also an issue of short staffing that continues to cause problems in Michigan and around the country.

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Finding a hospital to quickly treat you in the ER is getting harder and harder in Michigan because of these never-ending staff shortages.

JJ Hodshire, president and CEO of Hillsdale Hospital says about the shortages, “There are two distinct and very stark options for Michigan hospitals: we either shut down essential services or we obtain the funding necessary to grow our hospitals.”

Healthcare officials in Michigan were at a virtual roundtable on Tuesday and called on the Michigan Legislature and Congress to step in to make sure hospitals can remain operational. The severity of staffing issues at Michigan hospitals was addressed at the meeting by the Michigan Health and Hospital Association (MHA). Since 2020, Michigan has lost about 1,700 staffed hospital beds and MHA believes that long-term solutions are needed to address the short staffing problems.