Forget the pandemic, the new threat is the 'tripledemic'. It’s a toxic combination of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV - a cold-like ailment that affects the young and elderly), flu and Covid.
Barclays Capital, tracking the experience of the US, believes the tripledemic could be a problem as we head into the winter period in the northern hemisphere.
Assessing the latest data from the US, the bank’s number crunchers have surmised that current levels of flu infection are the highest since 2010 for this, the early part of the season.
At the same time, there has been a rapid uptick in RSV cases, while Barclays observed that ‘Covid appears to be here to stay’.
All of this, the bank's analysts reckon, may have a beneficial impact on those making and selling pills and potions for coughs and colds.
“Names in our coverage that we see as best positioned in the event of a tripledemic include Reckitt and Sanofi,” Barclays said in a note to clients.
It rates Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LSE:RKT, ETR:3RB), maker of Nurofen and Strepsils, ‘overweight’. France's Sanofi is rated 'equal weight'.