PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – As kids head back to school, and are exposed to more germs, doctors are tracking a triple threat of COVID, flu and RSV cases.
Dr. Andy Miller with American Family Care Portland says one thing parents should keep in mind is the wave of COVID cases.
“I’m seeing a surprising uptick in COVID cases right now. This is a little wave that we’re experiencing. I looked at my clinic schedule for today and there’s a number of patients that we’re going to be seeing for COVID,” Miller said. “I really wasn’t anticipating this this early so, it may be a question of is this really an early wave or the first of many waves?”
Miller said parents should also watch for RSV, which can be dangerous for young kids — mostly under the age of one — and older people.
“We’re seeing a lot more of [RSV], we have better testing capabilities for it so, we’re able to detect it earlier which is super helpful,” Miller added.
While Miller says he hasn’t seen any flu cases so far, now is the time to protect against the virus.
“With RSV, and COVID and flu, that’s just too many bugs to deal with so, any prevention we can do now is going to be super helpful,” Miller said.
The urgent care doctor says vaccines against RSV, flu and COVID have been proven to help fight the viruses.
“For very young kids, the RSV shot has been proven to be helpful. For the flu season, we have flu shots that protect against four different versions of influenza so, I’m personally a big fan of that shot. And we’re going to know a little bit more about the COVID booster shot that’s going to be coming out in late September or early October and the details of that vaccine are still getting finalized as we pay attention to the variants that are going around,” Miller said.
