Navigating the Current Landscape of Respiratory Illnesses: CDC Report Highlights Trends

, , , COVID

In the ever-evolving landscape of public health, staying abreast of the latest updates from authoritative sources is crucial. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provided an insightful update on the status of respiratory illnesses in the United States. The report, released last Friday, sheds light on the prevalence of fever-inducing coughs and sore throats, prompting individuals to seek medical care. As we delve into the details, it becomes evident that while there have been some decreases, respiratory illnesses remain elevated across the nation.

Current Scenario:

The CDC’s update revealed that over the past two weeks, a significant number of jurisdictions – 22 to be exact – experienced high or very high activity in terms of respiratory illnesses. This is a notable decrease from 37 jurisdictions reported two weeks prior. The decline indicates a positive trend, albeit with certain regions still grappling with heightened levels of respiratory ailments.

Key Findings:

  1. COVID-19, RSV, and Flu Positivity Rates: Despite the overall elevated status of respiratory illnesses, the report brings attention to a nuanced picture. While COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and flu positivity rates remained elevated nationally, there was a glimmer of improvement. Both COVID and RSV rates saw a decrease compared to the previous week, while flu rates remained relatively stable.
  2. Emergency Room Visits: The post-holiday season witnessed a decline in emergency room visits related to respiratory illnesses. This dip is attributed to the country gradually returning to work after festive gatherings, which contributed to the spread of viruses during the peak of the flu season. It is encouraging to see a reduction in emergency room visits, signaling a potential easing of the burden on healthcare facilities.
  3. Wastewater Analysis: An intriguing aspect of the CDC update is the analysis of wastewater, providing a unique perspective on the prevalence of COVID-19. Although levels remained elevated, there was a shift from “very high” to “high,” with concentrations primarily observed in the Southern regions of the country. This insight into wastewater can aid in monitoring and predicting the trajectory of respiratory illnesses.
  4. Regional Disparities: States with a “very high” level of respiratory illness include New York, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Louisiana. Understanding these regional disparities is crucial for targeted public health interventions and resource allocation.

In conclusion, the CDC’s latest update paints a dynamic picture of respiratory illnesses in the United States. While there are positive signs such as decreased emergency room visits and some lowering of COVID and RSV rates, challenges persist, especially in certain regions. Staying vigilant, following public health guidelines, and adapting strategies based on regional trends will be key in navigating through these challenging times. As we move forward, continued collaboration between health authorities, communities, and individuals remains paramount in mitigating the impact of respiratory illnesses nationwide.

Are You Sick? How to Tell Which Virus You Have

, , , , , , COVID, Disease, Health Basics, Preventative Health, Vaccinations

As most of us have shed our pandemic masks in favor of returning to less restricted socializing, some of the viruses we didn’t have to deal with for the last two winters have resurfaced—with a vengeance.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), seasonal flu activity is “elevated across the country.” The respiratory virus RSV is 10 times higher than normal, and more than 40,000 new cases of COVID-19 are being reported daily.

So if you’re sick, our concierge primary care doctors in Jupiter want to help you figure out which of these highly contagious viruses may be causing your symptoms, and what to do about them.

The ‘Tripledemic’

The flu season began six weeks earlier than normal this year, with at least 880,000 reported cases as of the end of October, including 6,900 hospitalizations and 360 flu-related deaths. This is the highest number recorded since the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

“The Southern Hemisphere has had a pretty bad flu season, and it came on early [there],” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Bloomberg News. So officials weren’t especially surprised when it hit early and hard here, too.

At the same time, the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, has been flooding children’s hospitals with cases. And while the media’s attention has largely been focused on children, RSV can also hit older adults and those who are immunocompromised.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases have leveled off, but as of the end of November, the CDC was reporting 281,000 new cases and 2,222 deaths a week, with cases expected to rise this winter.

And, of course, without universal masking, colds are also making a comeback. To make matters worse, it is possible to be infected with more than one virus at the same time.

Similar Symptoms

With all these viruses hitting at once, it’s doubly difficult to know which one you have, because all of them have overlapping symptoms.

“At this stage of the pandemic, it’s really difficult to differentiate between the flu, COVID, common colds, and even seasonal allergies,” Céline Gounder, an infectious disease specialist, epidemiologist, and senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told CNBC’s Make It.

“I, even as an infectious disease specialist who’s been practicing for a couple of decades now, cannot differentiate just on an exam,” she said. “You really need to do a test.”

Early on, it was easier to tell the difference at least at least with COVID-19, because of such distinctive symptoms as loss of smell and taste and red eyes or toes. But Gounder explained that because most people now have some degree of immunity, either through vaccination or infection or both, our bodies aren’t reacting the same way. Second, the newer variants are behaving differently than the original strain.

Ways to Tell

It helps to know which virus you have because they are not treated the same. With COVID-19, you can receive antiviral therapies, which can short-circuit the severity of the illness. But the antiviral treatments you can get for the flu are different.

As for RSV, Vandana Madhavan, clinical director of Pediatric Infectious Disease at Mass General for Children, told HuffPost that doctor’s offices are overrun right now, and if you bring your child in for mild symptoms that might otherwise get better at home, there’s a risk they could pick up something else while they’re there.

So how do you tell? As Gounder pointed out, there’s no way to know for sure, but here are some typical symptoms of each.

Common cold:

  • sore throat
  • runny or stuffy nose
  • coughing
  • sneezing
  • headaches
  • body aches

Flu:

  • sore throat
  • runny or stuffy nose
  • muscle/body aches
  • cough
  • fever or chills
  • headache
  • fatigue

COVID-19:

  • sore throat
  • runny or stuffy nose
  • muscle/body aches
  • cough
  • fever or chills
  • headache
  • fatigue
  • diarrhea
  • nausea/vomiting
  • difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

The CDC notes that this list does not include all possible symptoms. Symptoms may change with new COVID-19 variants and can vary depending on vaccination status.

RSV:

  • runny nose
  • decrease in appetite
  • coughing
  • sneezing
  • fever
  • wheezing

The CDC reports that these symptoms usually appear in stages and not all at once. In very young children with RSV, the only symptoms may be irritability, decreased activity, and breathing difficulties. Almost all children will have had an RSV infection by their second birthday.

What To Do

With any type of respiratory virus, it’s important to keep from spreading the virus to others, especially those who may be immunocompromised or are otherwise at higher risk. There are tests for COVID-19 and the flu, but not for the common cold or RSV.

Stay home if you are sick and get in touch with us if you have any questions.

Call 911 if you see any signs of an emergency, especially with COVID-19, including:

  • trouble breathing
  • persistent pain or pressure in the chest
  • new confusion
  • inability to wake or stay awake
  • pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone
  • if you think it may be an emergency

As the number of cases of all these viruses rise, it’s smart to take precautions. Wear a mask in crowded, poorly ventilated places, wash your hands frequently, eat well, and get plenty of sleep. 

And get your flu vaccine and a COVID-19 booster if you haven’t had one recently (there is no vaccine for RSV or the common cold).

Coronavirus Pandemic

New Guidance on COVID-19 Can Be Confusing

, , , , , , COVID, Disease, Health Basics, Healthy Living, Lifestyle, News, Preventative Health, Vaccinations

Sometimes it seems as though we need a spreadsheet to keep track of all the changing information and recommendations on COVID-19.

  • Masks/no masks?
  • Boosters? Maybe not, maybe now, maybe later.
  • Quarantine? Yes, no, who, and how long?

Our primary care concierge doctors in Jupiter don’t mean to criticize the researchers and public officials who are responsible for keeping us healthy. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is, after all, a disease we’d never seen until early in 2019. No one knew how to deal with it.

And thanks to the combined efforts of scientists around the world, we’ve made tremendous strides in the effort to combat it.

But one thing few counted on was “pandemic fatigue,” which meant many people rapidly grew tired of taking precautions and radically altering their lifestyles to help stem the spread of COVID-19.

Which may be what’s behind the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p0811-covid-guidance.html) 

A new approach

This month the CDC relaxed many of its coronavirus recommendations, leaving measures to battle to limit viral spread largely up to individuals.

According to The Washington Post:

  • “No longer do schools and other institutions need to screen apparently healthy students and employees as a matter of course.
  • “The agency is putting less emphasis on social distancing—and the new guidance has dropped the ‘six-foot’ standard.
  • “The agency’s focus now is on highly vulnerable populations and how to protect them—not on the vast majority of people who at this point have some immunity against the virus and are unlikely to become severely ill.”

In releasing the new guidance, the CDC cited improved tools like vaccination, boosters, and treatments to better protect ourselves from the virus.

“We also have a better understanding of how to protect people from being exposed to the virus, like wearing high-quality masks, testing, and improved ventilation,” Greta Massetti, a CDC epidemiologist, said in a statement.

“This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives,” she added.

Isolation changes

In one fairly substantial shift, for example, the CDC no longer recommends quarantine if you’re up to date with your vaccines and have been exposed to COVID-19. Instead, you should mask for 10 days and get tested on Day Five.

Additional CDC guidance on isolation includes the following:

  • If you’ve tested positive and have a healthy immune system, regardless of your vaccination status, you should isolate yourself for five days. On Day Six, you can end isolation if you no longer have symptoms or have not had a fever for 24 hours and your symptoms have improved.
  • Once isolation has ended, you should wear a high-quality mask through Day 10. If you test negative on two rapid antigen tests, however, you can stop wearing your mask sooner.
  • Until Day 11 at least, you should avoid visiting or being around anyone who is more likely to have severe outcomes from COVID-19, including the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

These changes stem from a new statistic, according to Massetti: 95 percent of the U.S. population has at least some level of immunity against the virus, either from vaccination or previous infection.

What about boosters?

As for booster shots, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally decided last month against allowing adults younger than 50 to become eligible for a second booster vaccine (for a total of four mRNA shots).

Currently, only those age 50 and older and children at least 12 years old with impaired immune systems can get a second booster.

This is because the agency expects to have reformulated mRNA boosters available by next month that will contain components from both the original virus and its variants, as well as from the currently circulating (and highly contagious) omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

Meanwhile, the FDA still recommends that anyone under age 50 receive a single booster shot, and people older than 50 or those with weakened immune systems receive a second mRNA booster.

The mask question

No one likes wearing masks, especially in the heat. However, our primary care concierge doctors believe it’s better to err on the side of caution, especially if you’re immunocompromised or older than 65.

Especially given the new CDC guidance revisions, there’s no harm in wearing a mask in crowded indoor situations with poor ventilation.

It’s true that we now have effective treatments for COVID-19, but given the risk of long COVID—one recent study found that as many as one in every eight people who contracted it had lingering symptoms—what’s the point in taking unnecessary chances?

It’s up to you, of course, but in a recent interview with The Post, Ziyad Al-Aly, an epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, compared the current state of the country to “the Wild West.”

“There are no public health measures at all,” he told the paper.

“We’re in a very peculiar spot, where the risk is vivid and it’s out there, but we’ve let our guard down and we’ve chosen, deliberately, to expose ourselves and make ourselves vulnerable.”

flu vaccine jupiter fl

Get Your Flu Shot by Halloween

, , Concierge Medicine, Healthy Living, Preventative Health, Vaccinations

Halloween is full of scary fun. But here’s something to really be scared about: not getting a flu shot. While you’re planning your costume and your parties, remember to carve out a moment to get protected against this dangerous disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that all adults and children over the age of six months receive their flu shot by the end of October, and our concierge family doctors in Jupiter second that advice.

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