U.S. could face "tripledemic" amid exodus of health care workers

U.S. President Joe Biden receives an updated COVID-19 booster shot in Washington, D.C., the United States, Oct. 25, 2022. (White House/Handout via Xinhua)

The health care system is grappling with a reduced labor force following an exodus of health care workers from the field during the pandemic, largely due to burnout.

NEW YORK, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The United States could very well face what some doctors have dubbed a "tripledemic" this winter, with cases of COVID-19, the flu and a virus called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) surging at the same time, CBS News reported Tuesday.

"The simultaneous increase in cases of three distinct viruses comes as more professionals are leaving the health care field for work that either pays better or is less physically and emotionally draining, which could further threaten the nation's strained health care system," said the report.

"I'm concerned that hospitals, health care providers are going to be overwhelmed," CBS News medical contributor and Kaiser Health News editor-at-large Celine Gounder was quoted as saying. "We're looking at very high rates of both flu and RSV, so probably something around like 35,000 hospitalizations per week just from those two conditions."

The health care system is grappling with a reduced labor force following an exodus of health care workers from the field during the pandemic, largely due to burnout, according to the report.

Some 330,000 medical professionals dropped out of the labor force in 2021, the report said, citing health care commercial intelligence company Definitive Healthcare.

"That means even more work falls on the laps of the nurses, doctors and administrative and support staff who remain in the industry," it added.