It’s another Friday, and we have reached Week 122 of the COVID pandemic. Dr. Klotman’s COVID Update this week focuses on questions that physicians themselves have asked. He responds to each with references to the recent, clinical research literature, of course.
A sampling of the topics in this week’s update:
- Do children get Long COVID? (yes)
- Will we likely see new variants this Fall? (of course)
- Can’t we come up with a universal COVID vaccine? (not soon enough)
- Does Paxlovid cause reactivation of the virus? (are you fucking kidding me?)
The current wave of BA.5 COVID in the US and Europe is not proving as fatal as the Delta and Omicron waves were, but the age distribution of fatalities continues to deal a blow to baby boomers. Unfortunately, as COVID hospitalizations swamp available ICU beds, hospitals are challenged to care properly for folks with conditions like stroke or MI who need ICU care – been there done that. So, there is collateral mortality due to the stress that COVID hospitalizations impose on healthcare resources.
I personally find this disheartening since those hospitalized with COVID these days are disproportionately people who have refused vaccination. They and the society at large would have been better off if they had just swallowed their beliefs and taken a vaccine. Alas.