US Could Face 'Tripledemic' Amid Exodus of Health Care Workers

The United States could very well face a "tripledemic" this winter, with cases of COVID-19, the flu and a virus called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) surging at the same time.

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"The simultaneous increase in cases of three distinct viruses comes as more professionals are leaving the health care field for work that either pays better or is less physically and emotionally draining, which could further threaten the nation's strained health care system," CBS News reported Tuesday.

"I'm concerned that hospitals, health care providers are going to be overwhelmed. We're looking at very high rates of both flu and RSV, so probably something around like 35,000 hospitalizations per week just from those two conditions," said Celine Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and Kaiser Health News editor-at-large. 

The health care system is grappling with a reduced labor force following an exodus of health care workers from the field during the pandemic, largely due to burnout. Some 330,000 medical professionals dropped out of the labor force in 2022.

"That means even more work falls on the laps of the nurses, doctors and administrative and support staff who remain in the industry," CBS added.

Another facet of the health system crisis was recently highlighted by an article published on the website of the think tank Niskanen Center

"Looking back at the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic response across two administrations and three Congresses, we see a record of crisis management that includes some significant accomplishments and breathtaking successes, as well as a long, dismal string of missteps and failures," it pointed out out.

The U.S. cumulative COVID mortality rate as of Aug. 31, 2022 -- 310 deaths per 100,000 people -- was the highest of any advanced democracy, the Niskanen Center added.