The COVID-19 Timeline is now in the CDC Museum. One would hope its installation in the museum places it in the past. Unbeknownst to many, there is an actual CDC museum in Atlanta, Georgia. The David J. Sencer CDC Museum features permanent and changing exhibitions that focus on a variety of public health topics and the history of the Centers for Disease Control.
It has been over four years since the beginning of the pandemic. No one wants to live through that again. The worst we have seen is over, but COVID-19 is still causing disease and has the potential to mutate a variant that causes more serious illness and deaths. Public health updates continue to keep the public informed and try to protect everyone. But history always seems to repeat itself.
Although a lot has changed, COVID cases are still tracked by wastewater, positive lab tests, hospitalizations and deaths. Researchers are following the variants and their associated symptoms and severity. Wastewater tracking has been useful for potential upticks. Recent data indicates increases in some region of the United States. COVID has typically had surges in the summer and fall and winter.
Here we go again. This summer is no different. We are seeing the predicted surge. COVID-19 cases are rising, mostly in the western part of the country and moving east. Those most affected are over 65 and unvaccinated. We are seeing an increase locally, also.
Vaccination continues to be the safest and most dependable strategy to build immunity and protect against serious illness. Per the CDC, “Hundreds of millions of people have safely received COVID-19 vaccines under the most intense vaccine safety monitoring in U.S. history.”
The latest CDC guidelines from June of this year recommend anyone 6 months and older receive the 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccine when available later this fall. Anyone 65 and older who received an updated COVID-19 vaccine should receive an additional dose four months after.
Another recent COVID update is the FDA just gave emergency use authorization for Nano-Ditech’s nano-check, which is a home test for both flu and COVID-19.
The latest data for Massachusetts is for week ending June 29. There were 1,151 confirmed COVID-19 cases and six confirmed COVID deaths. A recent article in this paper addressed the increase in cases in Westfield. COVID is not history if people are still dying.
It is the same old story for summer events and weddings. One has to worry about the heat ruining the special occasion, as well as family and guests with COVID. Not much has changed with mitigations to prevent spreading the virus. Good hand washing, avoid large gatherings, mask when appropriate, stay away from others if you have symptoms, protect children and those immunocompromised. The March CDC guidelines for respiratory illness continue. Stay home until respiratory symptoms subside and no fever for 24 hours without any fever reducing medications such as Tylenol or ibuprofen. Then mask for five days.
We all have the knowledge and guidelines to keep ourselves and our community healthy. Follow the recommendations based on science and research. Although we have officially put COVID in a museum, there are many things in museums that have not been laid to rest. Racism is sadly present, despite Holocaust and Civil War museums. Let’s leave the COVID Timeline in the museum with a concrete ending.
Take care of yourself and someone else.
Juanita Carnes is a Westfield resident and a nurse practitioner with 38 years of experience in a hospital emergency department and urgent care facilities. She served 30 years on the Westfield Board of Health.
