Is COVID Making a Comeback?

There was a time, not too long ago, that COVID was the topic of conversation everywhere you turned. It was being discussed on the news channels, in the newspaper and in our own social circles. Information and advice were easy to come by and readily available – until it wasn’t.

As cases declined and as we seemingly reached herd immunity, the discussion sort of stopped as people returned to their regular lives. For the months that followed, you would be hard pressed to find even a single mention of COVID. It was nice. It was normal. It was temporary.

In this blog, David Chansolme, M.D., the medical director of infection prevention at INTEGRIS Health, gives us an update on the recent uptick in COVID cases across the country and in Oklahoma. You can read below or watch this video.

COVID is like the flu

“COVID is not over, I don’t know if it will ever be totally over. The pandemic is over, but it is probably an endemic virus now, meaning it is going to continue circulating from time to time just like influenza.” Chansolme continues, “I think this is very similar to what we saw 100 years ago with influenza, where you had a big pandemic come through and then after that influenza would continue to mutate so although the originally mutated strain was not circulating anymore other strains or spinoffs were circulating and continue to cause disease.”

Chansolme suspects COVID will continue to mutate. He says the late summer surge of COVID is most likely due to such mutations. He says luckily, none of the new strains are as lethal as the original strains were but they do appear to be easily transmissible.

He explains, “The reason everybody knows somebody with COVID right now is because it has been a more transmissible form that we do not have as much immunity against. Probably having had COVID and having COVID vaccines and things like that does provide some immunity so that it is not more severe. But you can still catch it. It’s kind of like influenza vaccines. We know that getting the vaccine makes it less likely that you have a bad outcome with the disease, however it does not always impact how much the disease is spread and I think that is similar with COVID.”

Be a responsible citizen

But Chansolme stresses COVID, just like the flu, can still cause serious problems for some people. “People are still being hospitalized with COVID. People can still die from COVID, most of those people have significant co-morbidities and usually COVID is just one of the many problems that they have. We certainly are not seeing death rates like we have in the past, but I’m going to say in Oklahoma in the last month or so there’s probably been between 10 and 20 deaths from COVID.”

He reminds us it is our job as responsible citizens to protect this population. “So, what does that mean? It means it’s still important that we go out and get the vaccines when they are appropriate, it’s still important that we practice some of the things we learned during the COVID pandemic and it’s important that we continue to protect those who are a little bit more vulnerable to having a bad outcome if they get it.”

COVID precautions

• Chansolme says to cover your cough, practice good hand hygiene and stay home from work or school if you are not feeling well. 

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer recommends a five-day isolation period but does suggest avoiding contact with others until symptoms are mild or improving, and you are fever free for 24 hours without medication. 

• Additional prevention strategies are recommended for another five days. These include wearing a mask and keeping an appropriate distance from others.
  
  

Testing and treatment

Chansolme points out that it’s important to get tested for COVID, particularly if you have co-morbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity or other underlying health issues. He says unlike other viral diseases, treatment options are available if started in the first few days. He recommends talking to your personal physician to see if you’re a candidate for these remedies.

But he claims vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself against the virus. Newly updated COVID vaccines are becoming available just in time for the fall and winter months.

• The CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get one of the updated vaccines.
• Pfizer’s and Moderna’s updated mRNA vaccines are fully approved for everyone ages 12 and older, and each has a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization (EUA) for infants and children ages 6 months through 11 years.
• A new Novavax vaccine that is protein-based is also expected to be out soon.
• Health officials say it’s perfectly safe to get both shots at the same time for convenience’s sake.
• People should wait at least two or three months since their last bout of the disease, or their last shot, to get the best protection. 

Next steps: The new vaccines should now be available at most major pharmacy chains. INTEGRIS Health will continue to give periodic updates throughout the next few months as we enter cold, flu and now COVID season. 

For more information and frequently asked questions about COVID, click here.