Riya Shankaran ‘26
Health experts warn of a “tripledemic” of viruses this winter — influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID-19. Moreover, these viruses are expected to surge and strain the healthcare system. Over the last two years, the EA community and general population did not experience a spike in influenza and RSV viruses due to COVID-related quarantine, social distancing, and masking practices.
The CDC’s first official influenza report on the 2022-2023 season shows that cases have been on the rise earlier than is typical in most of the U.S. Per this report, 18.2% of people in the clinical laboratories nationwide tested positive for influenza in the week ending on November 20, an increase from the 1% positive cases in the same week in 2021. At EA, Director of Health Services Laura Hurst has “noticed the Upper School, just this week [11/16], has had a little bit more absences than what we normally see.”
RAPID RISE IN INFECTION RATES: A CDC report shows that cases are increasing earlier and at a more rapid pace in comparison to previous years.
Photo courtesy of cdc.gov
Regarding the predicted viral surge, Hurst believes, “we will see a higher number of viruses than we have in the past few years.” She attributes the surge to “people [being] back to normal now or what is our new normal. I think there’s more socialization, they’re going to be going to larger events, traveling more, and all that does is help spread viruses.”
Ava Schlich ‘26 agrees with Hurst that there has been an uptick in illnesses at EA, explaining, “A lot of classmates have been out of class for up to three days in a row because they are sick.” Anika Kakarla ’23 adds, “A lot of people are really sick coming out of EA/Haverford/AIS [Weekend].”
Photo courtesy of Gianna Trala
In addition to influenza, high rates of RSV infection this season have overwhelmed emergency departments locally and nationally. RSV typically causes mild upper respiratory symptoms in teens but can cause more severe illness in infants and the elderly. Dr. Arezoo Zomorrodi, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Delaware, says that, in the emergency department, they have been seeing “a lot of RSV [infections] and in the past couple of weeks we’ve been seeing a flu uptick too.…The most common viruses right now are flu and RSV.”
However, RSV is not a significant concern for EA students. Zomorrodi explains that EA students “should not be very worried about RSV. RSV causes more severe illness in younger children, particularly those under two years of age. In EA-aged students, RSV would cause symptoms of a common cold. They would get a runny nose, cough, fever. They would have to miss school, and it might make them feel bad, but it doesn’t usually cause severe illness that would require hospitalization.”
While experts are not particularly worried about the severity of illness in children, there is concern about how limited exposure (as a result of social distancing and mask mandates) to viruses over the past few years will influence the overall spread of infection in the community, especially in the elderly.Hurst explains, “For younger people who maybe haven’t been exposed to any viruses in the last couple of years, it could affect them more severely. And we’re always worried more about the elderly or immunocompromised for the severity of the illness.”
Although influenza and RSV are the most common viruses in circulation at the moment, Zomorrodi says, “We will have to see what happens with COVID. I don’t know if COVID is going to join those other two or not.”
Hurst elaborates, “[COVID is] still a concern. I think at this point, most people have been vaccinated. Most people have had it, so we do have some immunity there. Again, we don’t know what the virus is going to do. Is it going to mutate again? Are we going to see a different strain?”
Some EA students are concerned about a surge in viruses this winter. Noah Rossin ’23 predicts that “we are going to see a surge, and I think people do need to care a lot more, even just for simple things like washing your hands and not touching your face. There are a lot of simple things, not even just masks, which will probably eliminate most of it, that people should be doing.” Despite potential preventative measures, Rossin asserts, “We’re going to end up getting a surge, and I think a lot of kids are going to miss a lot of class because of it.”
Like Rossin, other students also believe that some of their peers are not worried about a potential surge of viruses this winter. Kakarla thinks, “Most students are happy that they’re feeling the freedom from COVID restrictions being lifted. And so, I think that a lot of kids are getting sick more often, but they’re not as concerned about getting sick.”
Sophia Graham ’26 agrees with Kakarla, saying,“Especially after COVID has ended, some people aren’t concerned about sickness anymore. They are just willing to stay in school.”
During the pandemic, the EA administration worked with the CHOP PolicyLab to establish health guidelines for the school. EA no longer has weekly meetings with the organization and instead collaborates with the newly opened Delaware County Health Department and Marple Newtown School District for questions regarding school health policies.
Head of Upper School Michael Letts explains that EA has returned to more normal health policies and precautions for the community, saying, “Obviously, the years of COVID are outliers, but I think when you think about what we’ve done in previous years prior to COVID, we encourage families to get their flu shots. We certainly encourage families and students, if they’re feeling unwell, if they have a cough, if they feel like they may be getting ill, to stay home.” He adds, Our Director of Health Services Ms. Hurst is always sending out information to families if she feels like anything starts to spike, or she sees a number of cases that is an unusually high number. ”
With regard to illness, EA students are most concerned about the impact of missed days of school on their academics. Rossin comments on the difficulty students have to catch up with schoolwork when they are sick, stating, “I believe there are only very specific situations where you can come in online. Especially if you have COVID, and you’re out for a while, or the flu, it’s going to be a lot of work to make up a lot of stuff, especially for seniors as we are finishing the first semester and sending the grades to college. So, I think it is definitely hard, and I think we should be avoiding that at all costs.”
Landry Newman ’26 reinforces Rossin’s point, saying, “It is insanely hard to catch up when you miss school because you have to meet outside with each specific teacher of the class that you’ve missed. And, there’s only a certain amount of slots that you can fill to meet with teachers.” She continues, “It’s something that’s super stressful when it shouldn’t be because you’re already sick, and you still have to worry about the assignments you’re missing and the lessons you’re missing and what you need to catch up on.”
Hurst remarks that students should be proactive about their health to stay healthy this winter. She concludes, “Especially for Upper School students, getting enough rest; eating nutritiously; just taking care of yourselves; really good hand washing; staying home if you’re sick; covering your cough; getting your flu shot; staying up to date on any COVID vaccinations you may need — that is so important for preventing the spread of viruses and [for preventing] yourself from getting sick.”