It's only going to get harder to avoid the new coronaviruses in the weeks and months ahead, as they are similar to the Delta variant that did last year.
Did you escape for 2.5 years? The infectious disease physician from the University of Michigan told Insider that it would be difficult to escape this one.
The same thing was said by the senior scholar at the center.
He said that you can't avoid a respiratory virus like this forever if you stop interacting with other humans.
In some cases, people who were previously exposed to COVID are now getting hit with the disease again.
The immunity from the original Omicron infections doesn't protect you against BA.4 and BA.5 if you were exposed.
The good news is that vaccines are very effective at preventing serious disease in most people, and there are now evidence-based treatments that work well for vulnerable populations.
It's good to develop your own BA.5 plan because it's getting harder to avoid a COVID-19 infections altogether.
According to the experts, here is what you need to know and how to reduce your risk.
Jetelina, who runs the popular "Your Local Epidemiologist" blog, told Insider she's still wearing a mask in crowded, public indoor areas, and making it a priority to do a rapid test before seeing vulnerable people.
She told everyone to "tighten up" their precautions a week before they left.
She said to wear your mask at work.
"We can all do our part to protect people, but we also have to find ways to do things that are more important to us," she said.
When in crowded, indoor spaces, a professor of comparative medicine at Yale says she is still being careful.
Now that vaccines and treatments are widely available, "it just seems like everyone around me is getting it now."
She said that this is expected as we become more immune.
When there's fresh air around, outdoor gatherings are still a good idea. When they're in a crowd, some pros are rethinking putting on masks.
According to an infectious disease expert from The University of California, Berkeley, there is a very high chance of being around a person who is sick.
If I felt uncomfortable, I would wear a mask and keep my distance, but I would also carry a mask with me.
It's important for the most COVID-vulnerable people to make sure they're up to date on their vaccinations because they are less protective against BA.4 and BA.5 infections.
Gounder said that adults over 50 in the US should have had two boosters by now to protect against severe disease outcomes.
Gounder is concerned about people who are completely unvaccinated, as federal hospitalization and death data shows that prior infections are less protective than vaccines against the worst outcomes.
She pointed out that the counties that have the biggest increase in hospitalizations are those that have low vaccine rates.
According to a recent study, we have at least another two years of infections. We're all going to see the same thing.
Her new modeling suggests that she should continue to get her vaccinations.
It's known from the clinical trials how much immunity that will evoke, and it's known that that's protective. She hopes the Omicron-tailored vaccines will help speed up our progress.
It's important to be aware that cases are up if you have a known risk factor. If you do test positive for Paxlovid you should have a plan to get it as quickly as possible.
Being outside and wearing a mask at critical moments are important no matter who you are. If you feel unwell, consider staying indoors.
Do you have a tickle in your throat? That might be true. Put a mask on if you are with other people.
Improving indoor air quality is going to be critical, Gounder said.
It's important that we improve indoor air quality because fewer people are willing to wear masks.
Experts agree that a post-pandemic world is one where COVID-19 is present but manageable.
"I don't think a lot of people understand that," she said. They think that COVID-19 is going to be gone by the end of the year, and it's going to be all over again.
He said that the virus won't be a human pathogen anymore.
The same lessons we've learned over the past two years remain the same.
Gounder said he was not doing anything different. I've been doing the same thing I've always been doing, masking in public places, testing if I'm going to be indoors in a small group with people.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
