Here is Dr. Klotman’s Week 179 COVID update. New developments this week include rising COVID hospitalization particularly in New York state. Wastewater SARS-CoV-2 levels have increased significantly across the country and in the Houston area not surprisingly. Houston is a major hub for international travel, and there is no better way to spread communicable diseases than by travel. So it goes. I think case numbers in Florida are increasing, and nobody in the worlds of Infectious Disease or Public Health is surprised.
Most COVID cases continue to be caused by descendants of the Omicron lineage. The BA.2.86 variant that I mentioned earlier this week has been found in at least four countries and raises concerns about the protection that the upcoming COVID booster will confer against this one. The issue is that BA.2.86 has 35 different mutations, and the more differences between the vaccination strain and whatever is circulating in the community, the better odds that the mismatch will result in poor protection. I hate it when that happens.
So, for now, I am masking up in enclosed public spaces. I wore my mask to the store today, and it felt a little weird. I had become so comfortable going maskless. Sigh. But all of us older folks need to be mindful that Winter Is Coming, and with it there will be a lot more viral respiratory illness. After almost two months of 100+F temperatures, it is hard to think about winter, I know.