Originally Posted by
mattyj
False equivalence… Evidence of immunity debt growing around the world indicates the hospitals are going to fill up anyhow because of our masking and lockdowns
As to hospitals filling up due to "immunity debt"
, the New Zealand Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) filing ESR data highlights surge of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) notes:
While there were sporadic cases previously, the increase of RSV cases in New Zealand in 2021 was reported by the national viral laboratory network shortly after re-opening the borders with Australia in late-April. ...
“The exponential increase is very sharp. The absence of RSV last winter meant there is a young cohort of children from last year, plus a new cohort this year, who have not been exposed to the seasonal virus,” says Dr Huang. ...
Despite the sharp increase, rates of RSV infection are still less than pre-COVID levels.
Further, the most recent weekly Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) surveillance
report issued by the ESR notes:
The rate of hospitalisations due to Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) has continued to decrease after several weeks of increasing rates. The rate is now again below the seasonal baseline threshold and the historical average rate for this time of year. Respiratory Syncytial virus (RSV) was the virus most commonly detected through SARI surveillance in the past week (with high RSV test positivity, ~45%), and these hospital admissions in the Auckland region are predominantly in children under 5 years old.
So, "
rates of RSV infection are still less than pre-COVID levels", the hospitalisation "
rate is now again below the seasonal baseline threshold and the historical average rate for this time of year" and "
rate of hospitalisations due to Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) has continued to decrease".