What to know about the local RSV surge

Also: How a cooling job market could ease inflation; the price of owning a car [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  November 4, 2022 🌤️ Sunny, with a high near 72. Good Morning Boston, TGIF! We have an incredibly — perhaps unsettlingly — [warm weekend ahead](. And don't forget: Daylight Savings also ends, meaning we gain an extra hour Sunday. (Get ready: that first 4:30 p.m. sunset on Sunday is gonna feel weird when it's also 70 degrees outside.) A quick alert to commuters: a serious crash closed down all lanes on I-93 southbound in Medford [earlier this morning]( and police are [warning]( delays will stretch into the morning commute. To the rest of the news: - Worcester [wants you to mask up again]( indoors. Boston Children's Hospital is [cutting back on some elective procedures](. Connecticut Children’s Hospital has [reached out to the National Guard for help.]( the reason isn't (primarily) COVID. Rather, officials say they're scrambling to respond to an uncharacteristic surge in RSV, a common respiratory illness that's [filling up pediatric hospital beds nationwide](. - What is RSV? It's not a new disease. In fact, as [one doctor told Here & Now]( most of us get it by the age of 2. The symptoms look like a cold and most people recover unscathed in a week or two. But it can be serious for infants, adults over 65 and others with weakened immune systems. While elderly adults are the most at risk of dying from RSV, it's also the leading cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia for those under the age of 1, according to the CDC. - Why is it surging? Last year saw a similarly [early spike in RSV cases]( as most but not all COVID precautions were dropped. As children return to schools and daycares this fall after two years of mostly masked or remote schooling, health experts say a lot of them — especially the youngest cohort — are getting exposed to the virus for the first time. According to the CDC, the RSV rate in Massachusetts has more than quadrupled since early September. - How does COVID factor in? [Local COVID rates]( have remained stable, if choppy, since the summer. But health officials in Boston said Thursday that they do expect them to rise this winter. That's leading to concerns of a looming "[triple-demic]( — COVID, flu and RSV — straining an [already understaffed local health care system](. - What you should do: There's no vaccine for RSV ([though there could be next year](. There are [treatment options]( for high-risk infants, but the advice for most is just to wash our hands and practice good hygiene. Local health officials are also encouraging people to get their COVID boosters and flu shots, if they haven't yet, to keep the pressure off hospitals. - PSA: We just [updated our COVID data page]( to focus on the most relevant data as we enter our third pandemic winter. That means more focus on things like wastewater data and booster rates. WBUR digital editor Berto Scalese [explains our thinking in this Twitter thread](. - The big end-of-year $3.7 billion economic development bill is now on Gov. Charlie Baker's desk, after both the House and Senate passed the legislation without any objections during an informal session yesterday. Baker has 10 days to decide on the bill, which includes extra money for [heating assistance programs]( the T and much more. - You know by now that permanent tax cuts are [getting put off until next year]( (to Baker's disappointment). What else didn't make the cut? State House News Service reports that lawmakers also dumped [a proposal to give local cities and towns the option to bring back happy hour]( (which Baker opposed), a [school safety initiative]( (proposed by the governor) and the state lottery's [push to allow online lottery sales]( (Baker supports, but retail stores not so much). - Around the corner: The city of Cambridge is planning to discuss a new ordinance on Monday that would ban "right on reds" at intersections across the city. The goal: to make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. - Zoom out: Cambridge would be one of a few cities across the country to broadly ban right turns at all red lights (yes, even when there's no sign). Washington, D.C. and New York City have similar citywide rules. Ann Arbor, Michigan also ban banned right turns on red lights in its downtown areas last month. P.S.— Are you still making up your mind on how you're going to vote? Then take our special edition of [our Boston News Quiz]( to review the ballot questions, the top statewide candidates and more. And remember: today’s the last day of early in-person voting before the Tuesday election. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [A cooling job market could help to ease inflation]( Forecasters think hiring slowed modestly in October. That might take some of the upward pressure off inflation. [Read more.]( [A cooling job market could help to ease inflation]( Forecasters think hiring slowed modestly in October. That might take some of the upward pressure off inflation. [Read more.]( [Hospitals and insurers tangle over rising health care costs]( Consumers and businesses already struggle to pay premiums. Now, staffing shortages and inflation are driving up costs. [Read more.]( [Hospitals and insurers tangle over rising health care costs]( Consumers and businesses already struggle to pay premiums. Now, staffing shortages and inflation are driving up costs. [Read more.]( [CDC issues new opioid prescribing guidance, giving doctors more leeway to treat pain]( The updated recommendations seek to course correct after guidelines from 2016 were criticized for harshly limiting access to needed pain medication. [Read more.]( [CDC issues new opioid prescribing guidance, giving doctors more leeway to treat pain]( The updated recommendations seek to course correct after guidelines from 2016 were criticized for harshly limiting access to needed pain medication. [Read more.]( [It's not just buying a car — owning one is getting pricier, too]( Mechanics' bills are rising faster than inflation, and people are holding on to their vehicles for longer than ever. That means even those staying out of the car market are feeling inflation's pinch. [Read more.]( [It's not just buying a car — owning one is getting pricier, too]( Mechanics' bills are rising faster than inflation, and people are holding on to their vehicles for longer than ever. That means even those staying out of the car market are feeling inflation's pinch. [Read more.]( [Top U.S. transgender official visits Massachusetts after anti-trans attacks]( Admiral Rachel Levine, the highest ranking transgender official in the U.S., says she’s optimistic anti-trans campaigns will eventually fade. But they might get worse, Levine warns, before they do. [Read more.]( [Top U.S. transgender official visits Massachusetts after anti-trans attacks]( Admiral Rachel Levine, the highest ranking transgender official in the U.S., says she’s optimistic anti-trans campaigns will eventually fade. But they might get worse, Levine warns, before they do. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Cambridge is dropping $45.5 million to transform an old industrial building near Kendall Square into a gleaming, new community arts center called The Foundry. WBUR's Amelia Mason [has a look inside](. - Call it "Noirvember." Throughout the month, the Coolidge Corner and Brattle Theatres are [screening classics from film noir and offering educational programming on the genre's role in the history of cinema](. - Brooklyn Nets (and former Boston Celtics) star Kyrie Irving has been [suspended five games by his team]( for promoting an antisemitic documentary on Twitter and then defending his actions. (Irving issued an apology last night, after the suspension.) - In the third essay marking their 10th anniversary, the editors of WBUR's opinion section Cognoscenti [reflect specifically on the last several years]( — "holding both the ordinary and the unfathomable" after the COVID pandemic turned the world upside down.  What We're Reading 📚 - How America turned against the First Amendment ([The Verge]( - Qatar Offered Fans Free World Cup Trips, but Only on Its Terms ([The New York Times]( - Why Democrats Are Losing Hispanic Voters ([The Atlantic](  PSA [Ready to toss out your pumpkins? Here's how to keep them out of the landfill]( The U.S. produces billions of pumpkins each year, most of which end up in the trash when Halloween ends. From composting them to putting them out for wildlife to eat, here are some recycling ideas. [Read more.]( [Ready to toss out your pumpkins? Here's how to keep them out of the landfill]( The U.S. produces billions of pumpkins each year, most of which end up in the trash when Halloween ends. From composting them to putting them out for wildlife to eat, here are some recycling ideas. [Read more.]( Before you go: Did you catch the bright meteor last night above New England? [These]( [people]( did. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news   Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here](.  Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2022 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.