EYECARE: Coronavirus BRIEFING: Crisis Response Tactics Pandemic May Strain Medical System for Winters to Come By Staff Friday, January 13, 2023 7:59 AM The coronavirus is not going away soon, and that could lead to more dangerous winter surges of respiratory illnesses that will strain the U.S. medical system for years to come, says White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha, MD.People with other serious illnesses may have trouble getting the care they need and will face long emergency room waits before admission, Jha told The Washington Post. "I am worried that we are going to have, for years, our health system being pretty dysfunctional, not being able to take care of heart attack patients, not being able to take care of cancer patients, not being able to take care of the kid who's got appendicitis because we're going to be so overwhelmed with respiratory viruses for … 3 to 4 months a year," he said.Before the pandemic, hospitals usually saw more patients in the winter because of the flu and other respiratory illnesses. But the presence of COVID means that winter crunch is starting months earlier than usual, as soon as August or September, Jha said. Head over to Medscape to read the full story.