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
There is another new variant emerging, the "BA.2.86"(also known as the "Pirola" strain). It has many more mutations than previous variants and so is being tracked closely at this time. The CDC is looking into whether this variant may be more likely to cause infection in people who were previously ill with the virus or were vaccinated...But so far, very few BA.2.86 cases have been seen in the U.S. and this strain makes up less than 1% of all new COVID cases.
Both Pfizer and Moderna have found that the new updated COVID vaccines DO protect against the highly mutated subvariant BA.2.86.
The new COVID-19 vaccines are available! The CDC recommends that everybody older than 6 months get an updated vaccine. They are not referring to these shots as "boosters," but have moved on to a new phase in vaccination. The COVID vaccines now reflect the new circulating variants, much like the annual flu shots are trying to reflect the circulating variants. Vaccines will be offered from Moderna as well as Pfizer/ BioNTech.
The FDA has extended the expiration date of may at-home COVID tests, so that we can continue to use many of the seemingly expired tests still sitting in our medicine cabinet. Check out the FDA website for details on expiration information for each test brand.
You may have heard the catchphrase "triple epidemic" to refer to infections due to SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19 virus), flu, and RSV that may arise this fall. According to the CDC, the number of hospitalizations for these three viruses is expected to be similar to last year, which is higher in the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. But we now have vaccinations for all of these three viruses, which may help reduce hospitalizations.
Symptoms and Risk Factors:
An article in the journal Hypertension found that people hospitalized with COVID-19 were twice as likely to develop a new diagnosis of high blood pressure compared to those hospitalized with influenza. For those infected with COVID-19 but not hospitalized, that risk of high blood pressure was one-and-a-half time as high as with the flu.
Incidence/ Prevalence:
COVID cases as well as COVID hospitalizations continue to rise. Nonetheless, the absolute numbers are a fraction of what we have seen in previous surges. Moreover, there is some evidence that case numbers may be be peaking now and could come down. Fingers crossed!
Treatment
A recent study looking at the anti-viral Paxlovid found that, in a real-world setting, it is only 37% effective in preventing hospitalizations :( (JAMA Network Open)...prior studies had shown the medication to be 89% effective.
More bad news: a study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism suggested that getting the COVID-19 vaccine can increase your risk of thyroid eye disease by a factor of three, this risk occurs only in the month after vaccination.
Testing
The administration has announced a new program providing free COVID tests: after September 25, people can request up to 4 free tests per household at the website "covidtests.gov."
Other Infectious Diseases:
RSV:
RSV is a virus that causes lung diseases in young children and older adults. Most older adults who get seriously ill with RSV live in senior living communities or have multiple other medical problems.
The new RSV vaccine CAN be taken at the same time as the flu shot, but the flu shot MAY be more effective if it is taken separately from the RSV shot.
Based on the recent winter in Australia, the U.S. is expecting a normal to large RSV season this year, and increased RSV activity is already being seen in the southeastern U.S.
INFLUENZA:
You can get the flu shot at our office now. No appointments are necessary, but it may be a good idea to call the office first to let us know you are coming.
As mentioned in prior newsletters, getting a flu vaccine also reduces your risk for heart attacks and strokes, and even COVID-19!
MALARIA:
For the first time in decades, we have found cases of malaria (!!) acquired in the U.S. from local mosquitoes. So far, only Florida, Texas, and Maryland have seen cases of indigenous malaria.
OTHER MEDICAL NEWS:
Now this is kind of interesting: an article in the journal Obesity found that exercising early in the morning (between 7 am and 9 am) is much more helpful in losing weight than exercising later in the day.
Our Community and Beyond:
nothing here right now...
About Dr. Sujansky's Life in These Times
Happy autumn to all of you. It seems like the summer went by so quickly, as always.
We are still exploring San Francisco and are having a blast: my husband and I took a tandem bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge (I am NOT including a picture of that, thank you, so you will be spared the sight of our knobby knees). We also listened to a candlelight quartet playing Handel in a church in San Francisco). Finally, we did the "Alcatraz By Night" tour and had some amazing views of the city!
Now we have to see what fun Halloween (or Oktoberfest) activities there are in S. F.!
