Have You and Others Been More Sick Than Usual Lately?

Does it seem as if everyone around you is sick lately?

Have you noticed more students and teachers being absent from school? Or is it about the same amount as usual? Have you heard of people having Covid, the flu, R.S.V. or other illnesses in recent weeks? Have you been sick with any of these viruses?

In “Winter Illnesses,” the Dec. 12 edition of The Morning Newsletter, German Lopez writes about what is being described as a “tripledemic”:

Covid no longer plays the dominant role that it once did in most of our lives. But the risk of Covid — and other viruses — persists. This winter, experts expect cases, hospitalizations and deaths from viral diseases to rise once again.

The increase may have already begun. Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths are up over the past two weeks. The upswing resembles the trend we have seen in recent years after Thanksgiving, typically continuing through the holiday season and into the following year. (Check case counts in your area with The Times’s tracker.)

Flu cases are up, too. The C.D.C. classifies the vast majority of states as having “high” or “very high” activity for the flu and related illnesses. “Hospitalizations for flu continue to be the highest we have seen at this time of year in a decade,” the agency’s director, Rochelle Walensky, said last week.

Cases and hospitalizations from R.S.V., which typically causes cold-like symptoms but sometimes can be more serious, also spiked earlier this fall. But they seem to have already peaked.

The infectious disease climate in the U.S. right now is not a picture of Covid’s going away, but of its falling in line alongside other endemic respiratory illnesses in the fall and winter. In some years, Covid could be the worst of the bunch. In others, the flu or R.S.V. could be. “This is the reality that we’ll be living with moving forward,” said Dr. Céline Gounder, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

• Does this article reflect what you are seeing and experiencing in your community? Do people seem to be sick more than usual lately? Have you been more sick this winter than you have been in past years?

• If you and others have been more sick, how has the spread of these various illnesses affected you and your day-to-day life, if at all? How does it feel to hear that, according to Dr. Céline Gounder, “This is the reality that we’ll be living with moving forward”?

• How much has the coronavirus pandemic changed how you behave when you are sick, or even when you’re not? Do you try to avoid crowds and places with poor ventilation? Do you wear a mask when you’re indoors? Do you stay home from school if you can? What guidelines, if any, do you follow to protect yourself and others?

• Does evidence of a “tripledemic,” and the fact that hospitalizations and deaths are up recently, influence you to behave any differently than you have been? Why or why not?

• A related article quotes Robert Wachter, the chair of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, as saying, “Most people are exhausted and just ready to be done. I’ve been at meetings with other physicians who understand the data and science and say, ‘I just don’t want to do this anymore.’” Does this resonate with how you are feeling? Or do you feel differently? Explain.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.