Updates on New Infectious Disease Threats: What You Need to Know
Information about COVID-19 as well as other infectious diseases is constantly evolving. I am hoping to summarize some of that in these newsletters. New information will be in
BOLD.
COVID-19
General Information
The "tripledemic" has arrived: this is the name for the confluence of the flu season with a rise in COVID-19 infections and the RSV disease spike.
According to new guidelines from the California Department of Public Health, people who have COVID-19 and are feeling better (and don't have a fever) no longer need to isolate AT ALL, regardless of whether they test negative or 5 days have passed. However, people with COVID-19 still should wear a mask for 10 days. Now, I'm not sure I am comfortable with this recommendation myself. I would also encourage you to isolate from people whose health is fragile, if you yourself are infected with SARS-Cov-2.
I know that many of us no longer think of COVID-19 as a threat, but by the end of December, twice a s many people were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 compared to influenza.
Since early 2024, the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 has been going down.
At this time the omicron sub-variant "JN.1" is now the dominant variant in the United States. It doesn't seem to be more dangerous than previous variants, just more contagious. Laboratory research suggests that the most recent COVID-10 vaccine (released September, 2023) protects us well from this variant.
But even apart from COVID-19, it seems that everyone is getting ill with some respiratory virus or another in recent months. There are some theories about why this would be:
"Immunity Debt" refers to the lack of immune stimulation during the long period of isolation we endured in 2020 and 2021. As we were not exposed to many viruses (SARS-Cov-2 or otherwise) during this time, our immune system was not challenged and became weaker
"Immunity Theft" refers to the decreased resistance we have to new infections in the month or so after getting sick with COVID-19 (or influenza or other viruses...this is not unique to COVID-19): There is an increased period of vulnerability to new infections after getting COVID-19 due to the "ripples in the immune system" caused by the initial infection. Mind you, this is common for many (if not most) infections and explains why people often get pneumonia after falling ill with the flu. At any rate, this is a phenomenon separate from Long COVID, so don't get those processes confused!
LONG COVID:
Research is ongoing on the chemical changes that have occurred in people with Long COVID: proteins in the blood that are part of the "complement system," (which is part of the way the body's immune system works) remain abnormally elevated. It is as if the body is still working under the assumption that the virus is present and needs to be eradicated, although the infection is long gone (Science).
Incidence/ Prevalence:
At this time 96% of the U.S. population has some immunity from COVID-19, either from past infections and/ or from vaccinations.
Although the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is now declining, the amount of the virus found is waste water is still quite high...which means that the virus is still very much present in our community. This raises the concern that we could see a second rise of COVID-19 incidence in the near future.
People with Long Covid were found to have "cognitive slowing," which means that they are not as fast to assimilate new information (eClinical Medicine).
Treatment
There soon may be a new treatment available for COVID-19: researchers have found that the oral medication "simnotrelvir/ ritonavir" given to vaccinated people with mild to moderate COVID-19 reduced symptoms by about one and a half days. (New England Journal of Medicine). This medication is currently only available in China, however, so stay tuned!
Testing
The U.S. government is offering another round of free COVID tests. You can order them by going to the website "COVIDTests.gov."
Other Infectious Diseases:
RSV:
There is another RSV vaccine that is awaiting approval by the FDA. It is mRNA-base, like the COVID-19 vaccines.
Overall, RSV infections seems to be decreasing for this season.
The immunity conferred by the RSV vaccine is likely to last at least 2 years.
RSV vaccination is recommended year-round - this is different than the flu vaccines, which are recommended only in the fall and winter.
INFLUENZA:
The number of people infected with the flu seems to be declining. Nonetheless, public health officials are worried of a rebound in cases later on this season.
There have been significant declines in influenza-associated hospitalizations in the last three weeks.
As mentioned in the past, the match between the flu vaccine and the actual circulating virus seems to be quite good this year.
OTHER MEDICAL NEWS:
We have already learned (repeatedly) that our diet influences our health. So called "pro-inflammatory" diets rich in sweets, artificially sweetened sodas, meat, fish, poultry, beans, eggs, fats, and oils are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, as well as osteoporosis and many other conditions. Now, a recent study published in Arthritis Care and Research found that people who consumed more of these "pro-inflammatory" foods were also more likely to have knee pain associated with knee arthritis. So this is good news, I guess, because it gives each of us some tools we can use in everyday life to help with arthritis pain...without needing yet more medications!
Americans older than 65 spend an average of 21 days (!!) each year in doctors appointments and other health care-related activities (blood tests, x-rays, therapy) as well as hospitals or nursing homes. Moreover, 11% of people over 65 spend 50 days each year on these health-care-related activities (AnnaIs of Internal Medicine).
About Dr. Sujansky's Life in These Times
Well, I have finally finished another knitting project: It started out as a shawl, but somehow got very big very soon, so now I use this to keep me warm when I'm watching TV or sitting on the sofa. Thank you, also, to my dear patient who provided me with the pattern!
I hope all of you have a wonderful upcoming Valentine's Day and treat yourself with much love. I recommend you do something special for yourselves or you loved ones: buy YOURSELVES flowers, take a nice bath, take a long walk, eat the ice cream! And know that you are loved...
