Category: Corona Virus

At the same time, other nasty bugs are circulating. Flu cases are widespread and soaring around the state.

We are certainly seeing a spike in our numbers, said Dr. Marybeth Sexton, an epidemiologist at Emory Clinic about the rise in both flu and COVID cases. We just need to see what happens, whether this calms down as we get farther from the travel people did over the past couple of weeks. Whether we are at a peak or whether we are going to see this perpetuated, I think this will depend on the safety precautions people take.

Older adults and those with weakened immune systems are the most vulnerable to severe illness and complications from COVID. In Georgia, 70% of new COVID hospitalizations during the week that ended Dec. 30 were in those 60 and older.

The COVID virus is constantly changing and a new variant has been spreading rapidly around the nation. The variant, known as JN.1, is a descendent of omicron. It now represents 62% of COVID cases in the U.S. according to the most recent surveillance from the CDC. It makes up about the same share in the eight-state Southeastern region that includes Georgia.

According to the CDC. the continued growth of JN.1 suggests the variant is either more transmissible or better at evading our immune systems. However, there is no evidence JN.1 causes more severe illness. Early lab data indicates that the updated vaccines are still effective against it and continuing to provide protection against severe illnesses. The CDC also said they expect the antiviral Paxlovid to continue to be effective against this variant.

Compared to the first two winters of the pandemic, the state and nation are in a much better place. Fewer people are dying or becoming seriously ill because vaccines and prior infections have bolstered immunity and reduced the severity of illnesses. At least 96% of adults in the U.S. have either been infected by COVID, providing natural immunity, or have been vaccinated. Many fall into both categories.

Omicron variants also dont seem to invade the lungs as much as other coronavirus variants.

Among his patients, Dr. Andrew Reisman, a Gainesville doctor and former president of the Medical Association of Georgia, sees far fewer patients seriously sick compared to the earlier days of the pandemic. In a text, he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that encouraging early testing and access to medications to help treat COVID is going a long way in helping his patients tolerate it better.

But COVID remains a threat, especially for those who are older and immunocompromised. Immunity wanes over time. Anyone infected can suffer from long COVID, with sometimes debilitating symptoms that linger for weeks, months or even longer.

The latest preliminary data on weekly COVID deaths in Georgia show 12 COVID deaths for the week ending Dec. 30. Data from early December, which is considered more reliable, shows around 20 COVID deaths a week in Georgia.

Physicians continue to urge everyone, including those not at high risk of severe illness, to get vaccines against COVID and the flu, and to stay home if they become ill.

Sexton said it is certainly reasonable for anyone to consider wearing a mask in public during this wave of illness, and she would strongly recommend masking for those who are high risk, or have someone in their household who is.

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The number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations in Georgia is surging after the holidays - The Atlanta Journal Constitution

You get the dreaded text: the friend you just met for lunch tested positive for COVID-19. Now youre left to wonder if you, too, will get sick in the coming days.

But when should you expect symptoms to start if you do get sick? The answer has changed from the earliest days of COVID-19, experts say.

In the beginning of the pandemic, we were really looking at seven to 10 days as the window of time where people had to quarantine or isolate after an exposure, says Andrew Pekosz, a virologist at Johns Hopkins University. That has shortened significantly now.

An incubation period is the length of time it takes someone to develop symptoms after exposure to a pathogen. The incubation period for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has shortened considerably since the virus first began circulating, recent data suggest. Incubation periods averaged about five days when the Alpha variant was dominant, about 4.5 days when Beta and Delta were dominant, and about 3.4 days once Omicron took over, according to a 2022 research review.

Newer research from various countries, including Japan, France, and Singapore, also suggests Omicron strains have incubation periods of about three days, or even a little less.

The virus' incubation period is likely shrinking for a few reasons, says Shane Crotty, chief scientific officer at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. The virus has evolved over time, becoming faster and more adept at infecting humans, Crotty says. Nearly everyone has also now had at least one brush with COVID-19, whether through vaccination or illness. Each encounter leaves behind instructions for the immune system, helping it recognize the virus faster the next time it appears.

You having symptoms is all about your immune system being activated, Crotty explains. The whole pre-symptomatic period is bad news because your immune system has not managed to pull the fire alarm yet. A shorter incubation period means that your body is recognizing the virus faster and pulling those sprinkler systems faster.

Federal health authorities, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommend testing no sooner than five days after a COVID-19 exposure, unless you develop symptoms earlier. But since current variants seem to have incubation periods of around three days, Pekosz says it's appropriate to test as soon as day three, again unless symptoms start earlier.

Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, says he starts to feel more confident he's dodged an infection if hes still feeling healthy three days after a potential exposure. But, "remember, incubation periods are statistical probabilities, he says. Theres always going to be outliers. You could develop a sore throat or runny nose only a couple days after exposure to the virus, or you might not feel sick until day fiveor, if youre lucky, you may not get infected at all.

The timing of symptom onset depends on lots of factors, including the amount of virus to which someone was exposed, Hotez says. Their level of pre-existing immunity may also affect the likelihood or timing of getting sick, Crotty adds.

Given all this variation, Pekosz recommends monitoring your health for up to a week after an exposure and wearing a mask around other people during that time. Remember, too, that false negatives are possible on at-home tests. If you get a negative result, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends taking at least one more test 48 hours later to confirm it.

Its too soon to know exactly, but Hotez says JN.1 is likely to have an incubation period similar to that of other Omicron strains. One 2023 study found that while incubation periods have gotten shorter over time, the various Omicron subvariants have all been similar to one another.

In general, Crotty says, theres a limit to how low incubation periods can go. The SARS-CoV-2 virus works by invading human cells and using them to make numerous copies of itself. SARS-CoV-2 has a long genome that takes a while to copy, so Crotty doubts its incubation period will get much shorter than it already has. Viruses like measles and varicella (which causes chickenpox) on average take longer than a week to incubate, so, by comparison, a three-day incubation period is already pretty fast.

Read more from the original source:

How Long Does It Take to Get Sick After a COVID-19 Exposure? - TIME

Several states have warned of another COVID wave driven by a new variant called JN.1.

New South Wales chief health officer says the variant is partially to blame for the state's "highest level of COVID in a year", while Victoria's health department says the variant has contributed to an "increase in community transmissions along with hospitalisations of COVID cases".

However, experts say so far there has been no evidence that JN.1 is more severe.

So why is it causing more hospitalisations, and what is it doing to case numbers around Australia?

You can think of JN.1 as one of Omicron's many grandchildren. It directly evolved from BA.2.86, the so-called Pirola variant that emerged in August 2023.

Back then,Pirola quickly caught the attention of scientists because it carried 30 spike protein mutations compared to its predecessor, which raised fears that it could better evade our immune systems.

Interestingly JN.1 has just one additional spike protein mutation called L455S but it's a change that makes it more transmissible.

Kirby Institute virologist Stuart Turville said this particular change affected the part of the virus that binds to our cells, helping it to better evade our antibodies.

"[BA.2.86] was dominating in its own way, but it hadn't quite navigated well past the next hurdle, which is actually navigating around antibodies," he said.

"With JN.1, we've got a situation where it's gained the competitiveness of evading antibodies like the XBBs or EG.1."

Research published in the Lancet earlier this month found JN.1 was "significantly" more infectious than BA.2.86.

"These results suggest that JN.1 is one of the most immune-evading variants to date," the researchers from the University of Tokyo wrote.

And while that conclusion was reached after looking at JN.1 in a lab, genomic sequencing data shows the mutation has had real-world consequences.

JN.1 has quickly become dominant in many of the countries it's been detected in; despite only emerging in late 2023, the variant is now responsible for more than half the COVID cases in the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Denmark, and Singapore, according to data from the GISAID variant tracking platform.

In the United States, JN.1 is estimated to make up about 62 per cent of current COVID-19 cases, up from roughly 44 per cent just two weeks ago, the country's Centers for Disease Control said.

It is hard to paint a clear picture of how JN.1 is affecting cases across Australia because comprehensive COVID data has become a thing of the past.

As University of SA epidemiologist Adrian Esterman says, "it is becoming increasingly difficult in Australia to determine the current COVID situation".

"States and territories report at different times (some monthly, some weekly, some not at all), and provide different statistics," he said.

"The only available national collection is not up to date, difficult to use, and often provides no state/territory breakdowns."

Some states and territories have published updates in recent weeks, indicating hospitalisations and/or cases are climbing nationwide.

State

Latest COVID update

Qld

Queensland recorded 1,823 cases in the week to January 1, up from 1,769 cases the previous week. However, there were 2,417 cases recorded in the first week of December. The most recent published update did not include hospitalisation data.

NSW

The Deputy Chief Health Officer this week said about 400 people were being admitted to hospital with COVID-19 each week, and said there was "a high level of COVID activity in the community at the moment".

Vic

An average of 377 people were in hospital with COVID each day in the week to January 2, compared to 307 the week before. The current average is the highest in recent months but remains below the peak in May/June. The seven-day average of ICU patients also increased from 19 to 23.

ACT

The ACT reported 20 cases in hospital in the seven days from December 29, up from 15 admissions in the previous week.

Tas

In the week to January 4 total hospital admissions rose to 53 compared to 45 in the previous week. Two people were admitted to ICU. A total of813 cases were recorded.

SA

Recorded 1,974 cases in the week to January 5, up from 1,475 the previous week. Most recent update did not include hospitalisation data.

WA

There was a decrease in case numbers in the week after Christmas Day which coincided with a drop in PCR tests. However, the weekly hospitalisation average for the state climbed from 162 to 180 and ICU cases rose from five to six.

NT

Stopped publishing COVID-19 data in November 2023.

However, some states' hospitalisation data includes people who were admitted for ailments other than COVID.

Paul Griffin, an infectious diseases physician based in Brisbane, said while Queensland was seeing a higher number of hospitalisations, the cases were on the "lower end of the severity spectrum".

"We're not seeing people in intensive care, and we're seeing very low numbers of people that die from this at the moment which is obviously a good thing," he said.

So JN.1 appears set to start dominating cases globally, and has been blamed for an increase in hospitalisations in Australia.

But is it more severe than other variants? So far, that hasn't been established.

"A couple of recent studies appear to show that JN.1 has a greater affinity for lung cells than previous sub-variants of Omicron, and thus potential to cause a more serious illness," Professor Esterman said.

"However, in the USA where 64 per cent of cases are JN.1, there does not appear to be a major increase in hospitalisations."

Early research presented to the World Health Organization (WHO) last year also indicated that JN.1 was not more severe than other variants, although it said data was limited.

"A study from Belgium in 65-year-old patients has reported no difference in the odds of hospitalisation with JN.1 compared to non-BA.2.86 variants," a WHO report published in December said.

"On the contrary, preliminary data from Singapore indicated lower risk of hospitalisation and severity in BA.2.86 elderly and younger cases."

In its latest update, the US Centers for Disease Control said there was "no evidence that JN.1 causes more severe disease".

So if JN.1 does not cause more severe disease, why are hospital admissions in Australia rising?

The answer comes down to simple maths

"Increased hospitalisations over recent weeks in Australia are most likely due to more cases rather than a more severe strain," Professor Esterman said.

The usual advice for preventing COVID-19 applies: get vaccinated and stay home if you're sick.

Source: Victorian Department of Health

Experts have also highlighted that hundreds of thousands of Australians in a high risk group being over 75 are not up to date with vaccinations.

Data published by the federal government in December showed that only 23 per cent of people over 75 were up to date with their booster shots, and only 30 per cent of aged care residents had been vaccinated in the past six months.

"Most hospitalisations and deaths from COVID-19 in Australia are in elderly people, yet only about 20 per cent are up to date with their booster shots," Professor Esterman said.

"Clearly, it is this group we should be most concerned about."

The experts have also pointed out that even though the latest COVID vaccines target a different variant, XBB.1.5, they will still help protect against serious illness and death from JN.1.

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COVID cases are now being driven by JN.1, a new variant with an evasive mutation - ABC News

The antiviral drug Paxlovid can significantly reduce symptoms of covid-19 and dramatically lower the risk of severe illness or dying of the disease. Yet many eligible people arent using it, and some doctors still hesitate to prescribe it.

A recent study by the National Institutes of Health found that only about 15 percent of eligible people took the drug. Experts arent certain why some people decline to take Paxlovid, but anecdotally patients say they are worried about side effects or the risk of rebound covid.

Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of California at San Francisco, said that over time, people have become less fearful of getting covid. If youre over 75 and youre immune compromised, you hear all these stories of nothing happening to lots of people, Chin-Hong said. You just get lulled into this sense of complacency.

We spoke with several experts about Paxlovid, who should use it, its side effects and the risks of rebound covid. Heres what they had to say.

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Should I take Paxlovid? What to know about the covid antiviral. - The Washington Post

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) A former West Virginia state health office manager who was indicted on charges related to coronavirus pandemic relief payments is due to enter a plea later this month.

Timothy Priddy is set to appear in federal court on Jan. 22, a day before his trial had been scheduled to start. Federal prosecutors said he is expected to plead guilty. U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston scheduled the hearing on Tuesday.

An indictment filed in October charged Priddy with making false statements about the payments to federal agents in August 2022 and in grand jury testimony the following month. On both occasions, Priddy knew his statements were false because he made no efforts to verify the invoices before approving them, according to the indictment.

Priddy held various manager positions with the state Bureau for Public Healths Center for Threat Preparedness. He was promoted to deputy director in March 2021 and to director in January 2022, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors said the federal investigation was trying to determine whether one or more vendors providing COVID-19 tests and mitigation services to the state overbilled or otherwise received payment from federal funds disbursed through the states main health agency, the Department of Health and Human Resources. That agency was reorganized into three separate departments effective Jan. 1.

Prosecutors said the vendor reported the results of about 49,000 COVID-19 tests between October 2020 and March 2022 but submitted invoices reflecting the cost of about 518,000 test kits. Despite the discrepancy, Priddy certified at least 13 of the invoices totaling about $34 million, they said.

The indictment did not name the vendor but said the company was from out of state and provided test kits, laboratory analysis and community testing events throughout West Virginia.

The health agency had said previously that a contract with the company for diagnostic testing services ended in October 2022 and that the agency cooperated fully with federal investigators.

According to its contract, the vendor was required to provide nasal swab diagnostic testing for COVID-19 and upload test results immediately. The tests were for specific DHHR programs and initiatives, including residential youth facilities and hospice agencies, locations such as pharmacies where people go to get tested for COVID-19, and kits for emergency medical services workers who were required to be tested frequently.

Vendors contracted by the state were required to report the test results so that officials would have accurate information on the number of active COVID-19 infections and geographical areas experiencing outbreaks, the indictment said.

Nearly 8,900 people have died from COVID-19 in West Virginia since March 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Ex-West Virginia health manager scheduled for plea hearing in COVID-19 payment probe - The Associated Press

The political drama and the hysterics surrounding mask mandates during the height of the pandemic still linger, like the deadly virus that led to the necessity to don face coverings.

Last week, less than 24 hours after city employees in St. Louis were told theyd be required to wear masks indoors, officials stepped back and said the protective gear would no longer be compulsory but strongly recommended.Credit Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, who was ready to step in and oppose new mask mandates, according to Newsweek.

Unfortunately, there will never be a shortage of unmasked crusaders championed by the many Americans who would rather get others sick than take a simple measure to keep them safe.

No one wants to relive 2020, and it is clear that the U.S. will never emulate the Asian countries whose citizens have been wearing masks for decades, whether to keep from breathing in pollution or sneezing on strangers.

But as cases of COVID-19, influenza and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, rise here and across the country, as was expected in the winter months, its not a big ask: Mask up when possible.

Several Chicago-area health care systems, including Rush, are among many U.S. hospitals that are once again requiring patients, visitors and staff to wear masks in interactive settings to keep respiratory viruses from spreading further.

Such a step can only benefit the public and help safeguard senior citizens, the immunocompromised and other vulnerable populations.

Being cautious doesnt have to be reserved for medical facilities. A mask is a good idea in crowded spaces like the CTA, especially considering that only a paltry 12.6% of Chicago residents are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations.

The uptick in COVID-19-related hospitalizations has, for the first time in a year, contributed to officials raising the risk level of the virus in Chicago from low to medium.

While the threat of COVID-19 has greatly diminished, the virus continues to circulate and still has the potential to cause serious illness to those with preexisting conditions and even to some who have no major health concerns.

People seem to think that COVID is gone, and its not, John Segreti, a hospital epidemiologist with Rush Medical Center, told the Sun-Times Violet Miller last week.

Wearing a mask probably wont become mandatory in most public spaces anytime soon. That doesnt mean we shouldnt keep one handy: Dont let masking up slip away completely.

The Sun-Times welcomes letters to the editor and op-eds.See our guidelines.

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With COVID-19 cases rising in Chicago, there's no expiration date on the importance of masking up - Chicago Sun-Times

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation. Photo / AP

The head of the UN health agency said holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of Covid-19 last month.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42 per cent in nearly 50 countries - mostly in Europe and the Americas - that shared such trend information.

Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable, the World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general told reporters from its headquarters in Geneva.

He said it was certain cases were on the rise in other places that havent been reporting, calling on governments to keep up surveillance and provide continued access to treatments and vaccines.

Tedros said the JN.1 variant was now the most prominent in the world. It is an omicron variant, so current vaccines should still provide some protection.

Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead at WHO for Covid-19, cited an increase in respiratory diseases across the globe due to the coronavirus but also flu, rhinovirus and pneumonia.

We expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere, she said, while noting increases in Covid-19 in the Southern Hemisphere - where its summer.

Although bouts of coughs, sniffling, fever and fatigue in the winter are nothing new, Van Kerkhove said this year in particular, we are seeing co-circulation of many different types of pathogens.

WHO officials recommend getting vaccinated when possible, wearing masks, and ensuring indoor areas are well-ventilated.

The vaccines may not stop you being infected, but the vaccines are certainly reducing significantly your chance of being hospitalized or dying, said Dr Michael Ryan, head of emergencies at WHO.

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Nearly 10000 died from Covid-19 last month, fuelled by gatherings - New Zealand Herald

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. New York Citys Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will recruit up to 10,000 New Yorkers to study the long-term effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the department announced Wednesday.

Over several years, the Health Department will collect New York City-specific data on how the coronavirus impacts individuals over time, conducting multiple surveys with the studys recruits about the virus impact on their health.

City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan thanked the participants in the study, which will launch later this year and will focus on communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

We know that the end of an emergency must also be the beginning of a process of learning and understanding so we are better prepared and can support COVID survivors over time, Vasan said. This work -- to study the long-term impacts of COVID on peoples health -- will inform the future of care people receive. It will also develop our understanding of the disease and expand our knowledge of what people are experiencing, which can be confusing and disorienting without this understanding.

The Health Department will work with community-based organizations and those supporting Long COVID research and advocacy. A panel assembled from those groups will provide subject-matter expertise and awareness of issues of importance to people living with Long COVID, according to the Health Department.

New Yorkers recovering from COVID-19 or Long COVID can get assistance by calling 212-COVID19 to reach NYC Health + Hospitals AfterCare program and be connected to one of its three COVID-19 Centers of Excellence, which are located in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.

Dr. Amanda Johnson, director of AfterCare and assistant vice president of Ambulatory Care and Population Health at NYC Health + Hospitals, said the AfterCare work coupled with the Health Departments study will help city health experts better understand the long-term impacts of COVID-19.

I want to assure New Yorkers recovering from COVID-19 or living with Long COVID that you are not alone connections to care and other resources are a phone call away at 212-COVID19, Johnson said. AfterCares work contacting over a half million New Yorkers recovering from COVID-19 and the Health Departments launch of a comprehensive study of the complex, multi-symptomatic impacts of Long COVID will ensure no one in our city suffers in silence, and that New Yorkers have access to the most helpful resources available.

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NYC to study COVID-19s long-term effects on local population - SILive.com

The levels of the coronavirus detected in Bostons wastewater have been on the rise in recent weeks.

Authorities said levels are at their second highest point since the pandemic began and at their highest point since January 2022.

The amount of coronavirus per unit of wastewater is now ten times higher than in November.

According to experts, testing wastewater is the most accurate way to see how the virus is spreading.

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Level of coronavirus in Boston wastewater highest in 2 years - Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

BY JULIE APPLEBY/KFF HEALTH NEWS

Its winter, that cozy season that brings crackling fireplaces, indoor gatherings and a wave of respiratory illness. Nearly four years since the pandemic emerged, people are growing weary of dealing with it, but the virus is not done with us.

Nationally, a sharp uptick in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for covid-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, began in mid-December and appears to be gaining momentum.

Here are a few things to know this time around:

The covid virus is continually changing, and a recent version is rapidly climbing the charts. Even though it appeared only in September, the variant known as JN.1, a descendant of omicron, is rapidly spreading, representing between 39% to half of the cases, according to pre-holiday stats from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A new COVID booster is here. Will those at greatest risk get it?

Lab data indicates that the updated vaccines, as well as existing covid rapid tests and medical treatments, are effective with this latest iteration. More good news is that it does not appear to pose additional risks to public health beyond that of other recent variants, according to the CDC. Even so, new covid hospitalizations 34,798 for the week that ended Dec. 30 are trending upward, although rates are still substantially lower than last Decembers tally. Its early in the season, though. Levels of virus in wastewater one indicator of how infections are spreading are very high, exceeding the levels seen this time last year.

And dont forget, other nasty bugs are going around. More than 20,000 people were hospitalized for influenza the week ending Dec. 30, and the CDC reports that RSV remains elevated in many areas.

The numbers so far are definitely going in the not-so-good direction, said Ziyad Al-Aly, the chief of the research and development service at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Healthcare System and a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis. Were likely to see a big uptick in January now that everyone is back home from the holidays.

Certainly, compared with the first covid winter, things are better now. Far fewer people are dying or becoming seriously ill, with vaccines and prior infections providing some immunity and reducing severity of illness. Even compared with last winter, when omicron was surging, the situation is better. New hospitalizations, for example, are about one-third of what they were around the 2022 holidays. Weekly deaths dropped slightly the last week of December to 839 and are also substantially below levels from a year ago.

The ratio of mild disease to serious clearly has changed, said William Schaffner, a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee.

Even so, the definition of mild is broad, basically referring to anything short of being sick enough to be hospitalized.

While some patients may have no more than the sniffles, others experiencing mild covid can be miserable for three to five days, Schaffner said.

Am I going to be really sick? Do I have to mask up again? It is important to know the basics.

For starters, symptoms of the covid variants currently circulating will likely be familiar such as a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fatigue, fever, and muscle aches.

So if you feel ill, stay home, said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. It can make a big difference.

Dust off those at-home covid test kits, check the extended expiration dates on the FDA website, and throw away the ones that have aged out. Tests can be bought at most pharmacies and, if you havent ordered yours yet, free test kits are still available through a federal program at covid.gov.

Test more than once, especially if your symptoms are mild. The at-home rapid tests may not detect covid infection in the first couple of days, according to the FDA, which recommends using multiple tests over a certain time period, such as two to three days.

With all three viruses, those most at risk include the very young, older adults, pregnant people, and those with compromised immune systems or underlying diseases, including cancer or heart problems. But those without high-risk factors can also be adversely affected.

While mask-wearing has dropped in most places, you may start to see more people wearing them in public spaces, including stores, public transit, or entertainment venues.

Although a federal mask mandate is unlikely, health officials and hospitals in at least four states California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York have again told staff and patients to don masks. Such requirements were loosened last year when the public health emergency officially ended.

Such policies are advanced through county-level directives. The CDC data indicates that, nationally, about 46.7% of counties are seeing moderate to high hospital admission rates of covid.

We are not going to see widespread mask mandates as our population will not find that acceptable, Schaffner noted. That said, on an individual basis, mask-wearing is a very intelligent and reasonable thing to do as an additional layer of protection.

The N95, KN95, and KF94 masks are the most protective. Cloth and paper are not as effective.

And, finally, if you havent yet been vaccinated with an updated covid vaccine or gotten a flu shot, its not too late. There are also new vaccines and monoclonal antibodies to protect against RSV recommended for certain populations, which include older adults, pregnant people, and young children.

Generally, flu peaks in midwinter and runs into spring. Covid, while not technically seasonal, has higher rates in winter as people crowd together indoors.

If you havent received vaccines, Schaffner said, we urge you to get them and dont linger.

Food and Drug Administration approves COVID boosters for upcoming season

People who have dodged covid entirely are in the minority.

At the same time, repeat infections are common. Fifteen percent of respondents to a recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll said theyd had covid two or three times. A Canadian survey released in December found 1 in 5 residents said they had gotten covid more than once as of last June.

Aside from the drag of being sick and missing work or school for days, debate continues over whether repeat infections pose smaller or larger risks of serious health effects. There are no definitive answers, although experts continue to study the issue.

Two research efforts suggest repeat infections may increase a persons chances of developing serious illness or even long covid which is defined various ways but generally means having one or more effects lingering for a month or more following infection. The precise percentage of cases and underlying factors of long covid and why people get it are among the many unanswered questions about the condition. However, there is a growing consensus among researchers that vaccination is protective.

Still, the VAs Al-Aly said a study he co-authored that was published in November 2022 found that getting covid more than once raises an additional risk of problems in the acute phase, be it hospitalization or even dying, and makes a person two times as likely to experience long covid symptoms.

The Canadian survey also found a higher risk of long covid among those who self-reported two or more infections. Both studies have their limitations: Most of the 6 million in the VA database were male and older, and the data studied came from the first two years of the pandemic, so some of it reflected illnesses from before vaccines became available. The Canadian survey, although more recent, relied on self-reporting of infections and conditions, which may not be accurate.

Still, Al-Aly and other experts say taking preventive steps, such as getting vaccinated and wearing a mask in higher-risk situations, can hedge your bets.

Even if in a prior infection you dodged the bullet of long covid, Al-Aly said, it doesnt mean you will dodge the bullet every single time.

See the article here:

Theres a new COVID-19 variant and cases are ticking up. What do you need to know? - Virginia Mercury