Right now, our holiday gatherings have experts concerned about a surge in cases of not only COVID-19, but also RSV and the flu.

It comes at the same time that there's a high demand and short supply of common flu medications.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says half of U.S. states are dealing with high, or very high flu-like activity.

Hospitalizations jumped 40% in the last week. And RSV is a problem in the tri-state and nationwide.

News 12's Elizabeth Hashagen was joined by Dr. Sharon Nachman for a discussion on your health.

Experts expect that Thanksgiving gatherings will stir up social networks and give new coronavirus subvariants fresh pockets of vulnerable people to infect. As a result, cases and hospitalizations may tick up after the holiday, as they have for the past two years.

COVID-19 is not unique in this regard. Thanksgiving gatherings have the potential to amp up the spread of other viruses too, notably respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and influenza, which are both already at high levels for this time of year.

The CDC reports that more than 300 people, mostly elderly, are still dying of COVID-19 every day. While that's much lower than the 2,000 daily toll at the peak of the Delta wave, it is still roughly two to three times the rate at which people die of the flu.

Just published in Science, there is a universal influenza mRNA vaccine effective against all 20 lineages of influenza A and B, effective in experimental models.

Shortages of key medications used to treat common childhood illnesses like flu, ear infections and sore throats are adding to the misery of this year's early and severe respiratory virus season.

Cases of COVID-19 rebound following treatment with the antiviral medication Paxlovid – where infections rev back up again after people complete their five-day course of the medication – appear to be at least twice as common as doctors previously knew, a new study suggests. Covid-19 rebound also seems to be more common in people who take Paxlovid compared with those who don't take the antiviral, although it can happen in either circumstance.

In the past few months, instances of Covid-19 rebound have peppered headlines. President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, as well as Dr. Anthony Fauci, who advises the president on pandemic strategy and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have all revealed that their Covid-19 infections returned after they finished taking Paxlovid.

A biologic therapy that delays the onset of type 1 diabetes received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is the first therapy approved for prevention of type 1 diabetes.

The monoclonal antibody teplizumab, which will be marketed under the brand name Tzield, from ProventionBio and Sanofi is given through intravenous infusion. The therapy will carry a wholesale cost of roughly $194,000 for a full course of treatment, the drug's manufacturer said in an investor call on Friday, although this is not expected to be the price for consumers.