An increase in cases and hospitalizations this week is getting attention in some parts of the country. This is particularly so in parts of the US with low vaccination rates. Paul Klotman, MD’s week 180 update tells you what you need to know.
It is still too early to know how emerging Omicron variant BA.2.86 will affect the incidence of serious illness and/or deaths. We do not yet know whether it will outcompete the strains that are most prevalent today. We also do not know whether the upcoming COVID vaccine based on XBB.1.5 will confer immunity to this new variant. This is all part of the Fog of War – not knowing what we do not know.
The best advice is to mask up (especially if there is significant COVID activity in your City or County), and to get the upcoming COVID vaccine when it becomes available to you – most likely around mid-September – a little earlier or later in some parts of the country.
It is entirely reasonable to get the annual Influenza and COVID vaccines at the same visit. I get mine at my local Walgreen’s pharmacy. Other pharmacies and/or your PCP may offer the same service. If you have grandchildren who have not been vaccinated, consider talking to your children about vaccinating their kids not only for their own sake but for the sake of peers who may have conditions that make them more vulnerable to severe disease as well as for the sake of school staff. Without healthy teachers and support staff, schools will close. That has already happened in one small ISD outside of San Antonio. The only way to keep communicable respiratory illnesses at bay is to protect ourselves and one another.
Waiting to get sick so that we can take Paxlovid or some other anti-viral isn’t much of a plan. In fact, it’s like relying on Plan-B or abortion for birth control instead of using contraception. It really isn’t the best idea.