Many of us have faced sickness in some way in 2022 — starting with COVID in January and the surge caused by winter indoor gatherings and the Omicron variant.
We're ending the year on the worst flu season in a decade, and a so called "tripledemic" that includes RSV.
RSV has caused the highest number of child hospitalizations since the CDC began tracking it in 2018.
"This has been the hardest week, probably of my whole life," said mother Alyssa Rogers. "It is absolutely miserable to see him on the IV, and cords, and hooked up to oxygen."
I youngest suffered from a baby formula shortage caused by supply chain issues and a massive recall. In May and June, many parents faced empty shelves and panic.
"As a first-time mom only four months in, I never thought I'd be wondering if I could feed my child," said another mother, Alexis Graves.
May also saw the U.S.' first case of mpox, a virus previously called monkeypox. Cases spread globally.
It would be early August when the CDC declared the outbreak a public health emergency.
Health care worker shortages continued impacting how many beds hospitals could fill.
"We are down, I would say, several thousand hospital staff members in Virginia," said Julian Walker with Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association. "There are openings at hospitals across the commonwealth."
Since then, doctors and patients have struggled with abortion care access, questions about medical emergency, and prescription medications connected to abortion.
"Some pharmacists and some states are refusing to stock or dispense methotrexate and other drugs," American Medical Association Dr. Jack Resneck said.
"To think about being in a scenario where we can't offer evidence-based care is horrifying," said Northwestern Medicine Medical Director of Fertility Preservation Kara Goldman.
As we round the corner to 2023, robots, AI and virtual or augmented reality will continue to shape tomorrow's medical care — care we'll chart along as it unfolds.
Lindsey Theis
