Increasing Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease in Orange County and the Potential “Tripledemic”

November 10, 2022

In the last several weeks, OCHCA has continued see a rise in influenza cases in the county that is early and steep and suggests that our county will experience a severe influenza season.


On November 1, 2022, the County Health Officer announced an emergency declaration related to the severe burden that the surge in RSV hospitalizations are putting on pediatric inpatient bed availability. RSV case rates remained high this week.


The CDC anticipates that a surge in COVID-19 will also occur in the coming months. In the face of a looming “tripledemic”, Orange County providers need to encourage vaccination and other measures to protect patients and preserve healthcare resources.

Provider Recommendations:

Additional Recommendations and Resources:

Providers should continue to test for SARS-CoV-2; ideally, laboratory testing should be multiplex for both SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. Recommendations on treatment of COVID-19 can be found on our COVID-19 Therapeutic Recommendations page.


Current COVID-19 vaccination recommendations can be found at CDC’s Interim Clinical Considerations, Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States. This guidance includes recent recommendations on the use of bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine boosters for those 12 years and older. Additional authorizations for the use of bivalent boosters in younger ages are anticipated soon.


The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Influenza Vaccine Recommendations provides current recommendations for influenza vaccination. These include the new preferential recommendation for those > 65 years to receive either quadrivalent high-dose inactivated influenza vaccine (HD-IIV4), quadrivalent recombinant influenza vaccine (RIV4), or quadrivalent adjuvanted inactivated influenza vaccine (aIIV4) whenever available.


We will be posting current data on influenza epidemiology on a weekly basis on the OCHCA Influenza page.

Contact Information:
For questions or concerns, please contact the Communicable Disease Control Division at 714-834-8180.
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