Here we go again, goddamn it.

Ever since we decided that COVID was over, people have been on pins and needles waiting for the next new craze that’s going to keep us locked in our apartments.

Thankfully, most viral scares to date have been just that: scares. Bird flu didn’t go anywhere, ebola was easily contained, and pretty much every other potential “contagion-level” viral outbreak ended up being nothing more than a few people blowing their noses.

All that said, the news out of China doesn’t feel…great.

According to Newsweek, “official reports from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that rates of multiple flu-like illnesses are on the rise in China”—the main one being Human metapneumovirus, or HMPV.

As far as we know, this isn’t *that* big of a deal, as symptoms are similar to the flu and most people recover just fine. That said, there’s no specific treatment available for it and also no vaccine. So let’s just hope it doesn’t get worse!