Children's health leaders call for emergency response as respiratory viruses continue to spread across the US

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Pediatrician explains when children with RSV need to be taken to the hospital 01:48 - Source: CNN CNN — Seasonal flu activity is “elevated across the country,” with “high” or “very high” respiratory virus activity in more than half of US states, according to an update published Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And health care systems nationwide continue to feel the strain of a respiratory virus season that has hit earlier and harder than usual.
“These unprecedented levels of RSV happening with growing flu rates, ongoing high numbers of children in mental health crisis and serious workforce shortages are combining to stretch pediatric care capacity at the hospital and community level to the breaking point.
Due to these challenges, pediatric hospitals and pediatricians are being asked to support more care and higher levels of care than ever before,” the leaders of the organizations wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden and US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.