You know the frustration of a grumbling belly leading you hungry into the pantry for a snack – only to find the shelves bare. It’s frustrating in the sense that on one hand better personal planning could have avoided this. But on the other hand-if you live with teenagers – no amount of preparation can ready you for the havoc they wreak on your grocery bill. Although we’re fortunately not experiencing food shortages at the moment, I’m feeling the teenager in the pantry this week when it comes to public health data and information. Specifically, I was looking for updated information about COVID vaccines and the new variant.
I took for granted the regularly received emails from the CDC, Harvard and other sources with the latest information available. They have stopped. In the past, when I did a Google search, the foremost information was direct from health agencies and researchers. Now Time, CBS, NBC and British sources pop up first. Directly going to the websites is another pointless effort to find recent data. The World Health Organization continues to provide global data.
I overheard a group of elderly women, who I happen to know all have underlying health issues, saying that the CDC said they don’t need COVID vaccines anymore. This misinformation they are basing their health decisions on could be the difference between life and death for this at-risk age group. Not only is data and research less available, decisions are being made by the federal government independent of the guidance of experts. And many can’t discern what is best for their health.
The most accurate, local, first hand update I can give you on the COVID-19 virus is that the respiratory viruses commonly tested for (Flu, COVID and RSV), have significantly decreased.
This is not scientific data by any stretch of the imagination. But we are seeing many people sick with flu-like illness. I am seeing a couple COVID cases a day. It’s also generally known that any numbers are not accurate because people are not seeking treatment or testing as much.
Home testing is not documented anywhere.
It was reported by the World Health Organization that a new variant NB.1.8.1 (nimbus) is surging in Asia. The case numbers reported are impressive: 14,200 weekly cases in Hong Kong and Singapore, 50,000 new cases reported in Thailand in one week. There have also been cases reported in New York, California, Arizona, Ohio and Rhode Island per airport testing.
This variant is more transmissible than previous strains, thus the staggering number of cases in Asia. The common symptoms are sore throat, fatigue, mild cough, fever, muscle aches and congestion.
Nimbus mutated from the omicron family. The present COVID-19 vaccine will provide protection against serious disease. This is still true and especially important for elderly, immunocompromised, children and pregnant women. Experts do recommend the vaccine as the best tool to avoid serious illness and death. The FDA met in May deciding to continue to advise use of the vaccine without specifying updating the shot to target newer strains.
Unfortunately, the declaration by the U.S. Health Secretary that the vaccine is no longer recommended for children and pregnant women, and the FDA waiting on further studies for recommendation for healthy adults affects insurance coverage. Many insurances may stop covering the cost.
The public health mantra to protect everyone still stands: good hand hygiene, stay home when sick, avoid large gatherings especially in poorly ventilated buildings, test when sick, get vaccinated and be cognizant of those more susceptible. Once again, we can be thankful there are no reports of this new variant copycatting the first B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant that took so many lives and wreaked havoc on the world.
As always, we should learn from history. When COVID first started, very few in the U.S. had any idea that all those cases in China would come to our country and the rest of the world becoming a global pandemic. It’s likely nimbus will be here with surging numbers in the very near future. One can only hope that our pantries, markets, valid medical and public health resources and data stay stocked well enough to sustain and protect us despite the teenager in the pantry.
Take care of yourself and someone else.
Juanita Carnes is a nurse practitioner with 39 years of experience in a hospital emergency department and urgent care facilities. She served 30 years on the Board of Health in Westfield, Massachusetts.
