Winter sniffles are not an uncommon seasonal occurrence, and they are a regular feature in our home as I’m asthmatic and have a homemade germ factory with a primary school age kid. But this recent bout of illness has been unusually brutal. Despite my asthma, I’ve never been sick enough to require high-dose corticosteroids like prednisone. This time, I was. My daughter ended up having to take them as well.

What has been striking in the past few months is how many friends and family members have had respiratory illnesses lasting weeks, not days. Admittedly this is anecdotal, but it seems borne out by higher levels of respiratory infection than we’ve seen in previous winters. Health experts have warned of a ‘tripledemic’ of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that is fuelling pneumonia cases.