This opinion piece from the New York Times challenges the traditional understanding of 'flu season,' arguing that the simultaneous presence of multiple viruses, such as influenza, COVID-19, RSV, mpox, and H5N1, makes the term obsolete. The author highlights the increased risk of simultaneous surges of different viruses and the need for a comprehensive approach to public health.
The article criticizes the reactive, case-by-case approach to viral outbreaks, advocating for a more proactive, comprehensive strategy addressing various viral threats. It emphasizes the constant presence of diverse viruses in our environment and the necessity for improved personal, governmental, and technological responses.
The author stresses the importance of personal responsibility in protecting oneself and one's family. They highlight the significance of getting vaccinated against viruses for which reputable vaccines are available, as recommended by health agencies. This emphasizes proactive measures alongside broader public health initiatives.
Health officials would like to remind you that we are entering that time of the year still quaintly known as flu season. That means autumn to spring. Kids go to school, adults spend more time gathered indoors, people breathe and speak and sneeze and cough at one another, and the latest influenza virus spreads widely.
The reason flu season seems a quaint idea is that we now hear about and maybe worry about so many viruses all year. And well we should.
What if there’s a simultaneous surge of Covid and seasonal flu this autumn? What if infections of respiratory syncytial virus, known as R.S.V., peak at unusual levels, as they did in the 2022-23 season? What if the new strain of mpox, which is especially virulent, continues spreading in Africa and beyond? What if this year’s flu combines with the dreaded H5N1 bird flu and emerges as a nightmare flu? What if a novel virus destined to be called SARS-CoV-3 emerges from a horseshoe bat in a rural village somewhere, gains a few key mutations and comes barreling through the world’s airports?
Oy vey and déjà vu. It’s always virus season now. Maybe none of those worst-case scenarios will happen, but to assume so is to count on fool’s luck.
The notion of flu season is a relic of times when one virus could transfix our response efforts and dominate our collective consciousness. Influenza in 1918. H.I.V. in 1980s and ’90s. Ebola in 2014. We can no longer afford to react on a case-by-case basis. Today we need a broader vision. We need personal, governmental and technological responses that address the full spectrum of viruses that disrupt our lives.
Because they will continue to disrupt our lives. We live amid viruses. We eat them. We breathe them. We touch them on doorknobs and cafeteria trays. All the wild and domestic animals with which we interact, from mosquitoes to mice to the sparrows on the bird feeder and the monkeys in the temple gardens, carry their own freights of them in wondrous variety. Most of these viruses have no chance of infecting a human, but many do. The best way to protect yourself and your family is just what health agencies recommend: Get the vaccines if reputable ones exist.
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