Now is the time to enjoy the holidays, but it is not time to forget to protect against RSV, COVID-19, and influenza.
The holidays are fast approaching and for much of the United States, that means gatherings. Friends, family, coworkers, etc. Tis the time for breakroom potlucks, right? Well, let’s keep in mind a few things….
First, we’re facing a dire situation across the country in terms of pediatric hospitalizations, deaths, and
And, of course, influenza, and COVID-19. Many hospitals have had to initiate emergency efforts, such as diversion and resource to crisis capacity. Bed and staffing shortages are rampant, and some individuals are having to postpone elective surgeries. Now more than ever, using visitor restrictions and respiratory precautions will be critical.
In the US, COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise. Across the country, there’s a 7% increase in the last two weeks. Test positivity is also up, now at 8.6%, which is a 4% change in the last 14 days. Several states are seeing significant upticks in cases. In terms of
Looking back around this time last year, keeping in mind we saw the novel variant–Omicron–come into the picture, it was right around early December when cases started to rise. Not surprising if you consider the Thanksgiving gatherings and travel, but will we see the same trend this year? Hopefully not and definitely hoping to avoid another new highly transmissible variant. What is worrisome though, is the perfect storm brewing that could lead to a significant surge. First, it’s important to remember that viruses mutate where they can spread…so we want to avoid transmission in general. No brainer, right?
The piece so many experts are so concerned about is this perfect storm–the waning interest in boosters and vaccines, but also the waning immunity that is creeping up on us. Those low hospitalization and death rates are are a result of effective vaccines and, thankfully, a variant that appears to cause less significant disease. The other component is a total relaxation of pretty much all public health interventions. Gone are the days of mask mandates, focused eating outside, and quality ventilation, and employer-mandated quarantine or isolation. Did I mention access to quality tests? Yes, antigen tests from your local stores are a wonderfully accessible tool, but too often we see people testing negative in the first few days of illness and not retesting, despite knowing everything from low viral levels to poor sample collection could be an issue…not to mention that antigen tests aren’t that precise. All these things are worrisome and require us to try and infuse some COVID-19 infection prevention efforts into this holiday season.
PS.
Need some reading on non-COVID-19 topics this week? Check out these articles on infectious disease. A
