Many people are feeling lousy right now as the winter stew of respiratory viruses simmers. But there are a couple of unusual trends driving all the coughing, sneezing and fevers this year.
First, the good news: This winter’s COVID-19 surge has been mild.
“This year’s winter wave is low compared to previous winters,” says Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “This is the smallest winter wave we’ve had since the pandemic began.”