As respiratory viruses strain US health care systems, Biden administration tells states how it's ready to help | CNN Nearly 20,000 people in the United States were admitted to the hospital for flu last week, almost double the number of admissions from the week before, according to data updated Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Deidre McPhillips CNN

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In a letter to the nation’s governors Friday, US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra notes that flu and other respiratory viruses are “increasing strain” on the country’s health care systems.

In a letter obtained exclusively by CNN, Becerra wrote that the Biden administration “stands ready to continue assisting you with resources, supplies, and personnel.”

Last month, children’s health leaders requested a formal emergency declaration from the federal government to support hospitals and communities amid an “alarming surge of pediatric respiratory illnesses, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza, along with the continuing children’s mental health emergency.”

The Biden administration has not declared a public emergency for RSV or flu, but the Becerra letter outlines ways the public health emergency declaration for Covid-19 can be applied to more broadly address challenges brought on by a confluence of Covid-19 and other respiratory and seasonal illnesses. ...