- They asked the federal government to declare an emergency to provide hospitals with added flexibility to meet the surge.The Children's Hospital Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics warned President Joe Biden and Health Secretary Xavier Becerra in a letter this week that "unprecedented levels" of RSV combined with increasing flu circulation are pushing some hospitals to the breaking point.An emergency declaration would provide hospitals with the flexibility needed to free up bed capacity and staffing to make sure children get the care they need, Children's Hospital Association CEO Mark Wietecha and AAP CEO Mark Del Monte told Biden and Becerra in the letter this week.About 171 out of every 100,000 infants younger than 6 months were hospitalized with RSV for the week ending Nov. 12, according to the CDC's surveillance system that tracks 12 states.RSV and flu are surging in part because people have largely abandoned the public health measures implemented during the height of the Covid pandemic, such as masking and social distancing, which suppressed circulation of these viruses, according Dr. Jose Romero, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases."