Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency hospital surveillance logged 216 respiratory syncytial virus inpatients in week 45, with elderly occupants making up a larger share than pediatric beds as influenza and COVID-19 admissions also climbed.
Triple pressure on wards
Week 45 outpatient surveillance already showed influenza-like illness rates rising among school-age children, but inpatient tallies reveal seniors bearing RSV co-infections. Officials said 61 percent of concurrent COVID-19 hospitalizations were over 65, while RSV wards in greater Seoul reported transfer delays because negative-pressure rooms were occupied by flu cases.
MOE guidelines sent to districts urge after-school vaccination windows, yet hospitalists said the immediate bottleneck is bed hours, not shot supply. Antiviral stocks for influenza remain adequate, according to MFDS checks, but pediatric nurses are rotating into adult respiratory units—a sign the season is overlapping, not replacing, last winter’s curves.
What families should do
Clinicians asked households with grandparents caring for flu-positive pupils to separate sleeping spaces and mask during shared meals. RSV vaccines for older adults are available but uptake trails flu shots; public-health nurses will run evening clinic hours in Bucheon and Cheonan next week.
Pharmacy checks
MFDS spot inspections at wholesale distributors found palivizumab and influenza antiviral stocks sufficient for two weeks of peak demand, but couriers reported slower last-mile delivery to island clinics. Jeju public health officers rerouted one elderly RSV transfer to a mainland hospital because the ward oxygen manifold was under maintenance.