In Week 167 of the COVID Pandemic, US hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline. The bad news is that China is seeing a resurgence of the disease and its worst consequences. China’s population has a low level of vaccination, and the Sinovax vaccine is not as effective as the western m-RNA COVID vaccines. Not surprisingly, new Omicron sub-variants of the XBB and other lineages continue to arise in China where there is lots of disease activity. Alas!
Dr. Klotman mentions that another seasonal respiratory virus related to RSV has COVID-like symptoms and affects both older adults and young children. It is Metapneumovirus. Our environment is a soup of endemic pathogens most of which never become epidemic. I’m not freaking out about metapneumovirus just yet. This one seems to pass from person to person by contact. Just wash your hands and avoid picking your nose and rubbing your eyes.
For the record, I’ve going maskless for a few weeks now. I would still wear a mask in a large venue where I might be exposed to hundreds of people, but not to the store or a restaurant. I’m also still waiting for a new COVID booster that targets Omicron XBB variants. I haven’t been to a large medical conference since the pandemic began. Susan and I used to attend two or more such conferences each year but no more. Sigh.