Here is Dr. Klotman’s Week 243 video address. My summary is:
- The FDA has lifted its hold on the testing of Novavax’s combined Flu/COVID vaccine. The agency had placed the hold for potential safety concerns that were later shown to be unsupported.
- H5N1 avian flu has killed 56% of Caspian terns (seagulls) in Washington state’s Rat Island. The affected tern populations in Washington and Vancouver have stopped breeding in the wake of this epidemic.
- H5N1 has now been seen in Pacific harbor seals and has caused epidemics in pinnipeds in South America as well.
- Many species are susceptible to H5N1 – not only birds and cattle but cats (domestic and wild), bears, skunks, and other mammals.
- A teenager in British Columbia has tested positive for H5N1 pneumonia. This is the first reported case of lower respiratory tract infection caused by the avian flu virus. Merde!
- The number of seasonal Influenza A cases is ticking upward as the season begins. Get your Flu shot and wear your mask.
- While COVID wastewater levels are increasing throughout the US, ER visits and hospitalization for COVID haven’t yet shown an increase.
- The dominant COVID strains in the US and among international travelers to the US are KP.3.1.1 and XEC. The current vaccine covers both.
Dr Klotman also took a moment to recognize human stupidity, including that among physicians. He recognized a district in Idaho that decided to eliminate the provision of COVID vaccines through the district’s health department! A pathologist responsible for disseminating vaccine misinformation in that district had his license limited in Washington state (a license probably granted by reciprocity). Sigh.
Today, I did my grocery shopping at Randall’s rather than Central Market. That store carries some items that my HEB Central Market does not – pickled Serrano peppers, Velveeta cheese, inexpensive box Chardonnay, and a few other indiscretions like fried chicken, donuts, and apple fritters. As I was in line to check out, an older Hispanic lady wheeled up in her motorized cart. She asked me about the mask that I was wearing – a common KN-95 bought on Amazon a couple of years ago when we were all living in the COVID apocalypse.
I told her that I had purchased a box of masks from Amazon. She asked whether they were expensive, and I responded that I didn’t remember the price, but that I thought they were inexpensive. She then said that she had COPD (the reason for using a motorized cart, no doubt). “It’s from so many years of smoking,” she said. I nodded affirmatively saying that having COPD, the last thing she needed was to get influenza, COVID, or RSV. She agreed.
I asked her if she was still smoking. She responded that she was because it was so difficult to quit. I again nodded affirmatively and told her that I knew firsthand because I had quit 30 years ago after being a smoker for 20 years. We chatted there for a bit, and I told her that there was a prescription pill that she could take to help her quit. I couldn’t remember the name Chantix, sigh.
I can only hope that she asks her PCP for the pill that will help her quit smoking and that she buys herself a few KN-95 masks.