Maryland health officials launched a new data dashboard on seasonal respiratory illnesses as the winter holidays approach — with data on the once-novel COVID-19 virus now reported alongside that of influenza and others.

The Maryland Department of Health announced Monday that the Maryland Combined Respiratory Illness Dashboard aims to help families monitor seasonal illnesses that spike in the cooler months.

But public health researchers say the dashboard is also a sign of a new stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, where it operates as a “relatively equal threat” to the other viruses that circulate in the colder months. Deputy Secretary of Public Health Services Meg Sullivan agrees.

“We’re in a different place with COVID, and we know that COVID is endemic and happening,” Sullivan said Mond

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