[COVID-19 Talk with Local Health Authorities (#85)]
[00:00:15]
GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO COVID-19, TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
JOINING ME, UH, REPRESENTING CURRENT COUNTY IS DR.
ERICA BROWN, REPRESENTING THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UH, DR. DAVID PER, UH, SPECIAL THANKS TO DAVID CASTILLO AND, UH, PRISCILLA, PRISCILLA KEY, OUR PR CO-PRODUCERS AND, UH, KATHY INGER, PAST PRESIDENT ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, WHO HAS BEEN PUTTING ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS TOGETHER FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS NOW.
I'M STEPHEN WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
LOOKING AT HARRIS COUNTY HUB, NEW CASES ARE UP TO THREAT LEVEL ONE.
HOW IS THE STATUS DETERMINED AND AVERAGE OF ALL INDICATORS CG CDC JUST UPGRADED HARRIS COUNTY TO HIGH THREAT LEVEL.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS? UH, SO I'LL TAKE THAT ONE.
SO THE CDC WEEKLY METRICS, UH, USED TO DETERMINE A COVID, UH, COMMUNITY LEVEL ARE K RATE HUNDRED THOUSAND.
UH, AND WE ARE AT, CURRENTLY AT 2 211 0.89.
UM, HIGH INDICATOR IS GREATER THAN 200.
UM, SO WE'RE JUST OVER THAT THRESHOLD.
NEW COVID ADMISSIONS PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND, AND OURS IS A 12.4, AND THE HIGH INDICATOR IS OVER 10%, AND THEN STAFFED INPATIENT BEDS, UM, IN USE WITH A CONFIRMED COVID CASE.
WE'RE AT 4.4 AND A HIGH INDICATOR WE HAVEN'T MET, WHICH IS GREATER THAN 10.
SO THE REASON WE'VE MOVED IS BECAUSE WE'VE MET TWO OUT OF THE THREE INDICATORS.
UM, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, FRAME THAT A LITTLE BIT AND SAY, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE MET TWO OUT OF THE THREE INDICATORS, WE STILL ARE NOWHERE WHERE, NOWHERE NEAR WHERE WE WERE WHEN WE SAW THE PREVIOUS WAVES OF COVID INFECTION ARE HOSPITALIZATIONS GOING UP.
SO, UH, AS DR. BROWN POINTED OUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE METRIC FOR HOSPITALIZATIONS IS GOING UP, BUT IT'S NOT GOING UP AT THE SAME RATE AS SOME OF THE OTHER METRICS ARE.
AND THE, THE OTHER THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT AS THE VACCINE IS, I'M SORRY, AS THE VACCINE IS, THE VIRUS IS SPREADING THROUGH THE COMMUNITY, PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING ADMITTED TO HOSPITALS FOR OTHER AILMENTS ARE GOING TO INCIDENTALLY HAVE, UM, INFECTION WITH COVID.
SO THERE'S PART OF THAT GOING ON.
BUT IN ADDITION, I WILL SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE METRICS WE LOOK AT, JUST LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS WHO ADMITTED WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH COVID, WHETHER IT'S WITH COVID OR FOR COVID, IT'S ALL LOOPED TOGETHER.
BUT I'LL SAY THAT ANECDOTALLY, TALKING TO MY COLLEAGUES WHO WORK IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS, THEY, THEY ARE DEFINITELY ADMITTING MORE AND MORE PEOPLE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS BECAUSE OF COVID.
WE HADN'T SEEN THAT IN A WHILE.
SO THAT'S STARTING TO TICK UP.
BUT AGAIN, TO REINFORCE WHAT DR. BROWN SAID, IT'S NOWHERE NEAR THE LEVELS THAT IT WAS, UH, PREVIOUSLY, BUT THINGS ARE MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION, AT LEAST FOR NOW, THEY'RE THOUGHTS ON THE ALMOST 25% POSITIVITY RATE.
HOW DO AT-HOME TESTS FIGURE END? SO AT-HOME TESTS HAVE REALLY BECOME A GREAT TOOL TO HELP MITIGATE SPREAD IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO TEST YOURSELF, UM, WITHOUT COMING OUT INTO THE POPULATION.
UM, HOWEVER, WE DON'T HAVE A VERY GOOD MECHANISM OF RECORDING THAT TEST RESULT.
SO PUBLIC HEALTH HAS, UM, UH, A SITE ON THEIR WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN, UM, UM, UM, PUT YOUR, YOUR TEST RESULT IN.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, WE REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW MANY POSITIVES WE'VE HAD OUT OF THE AT-HOME TEST.
SO THE NUMBER OF POSITIVES, UH, IN THE COUNTY IS SURELY HIGHER THAN WE'RE REPORTING BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
YEAH, SO THE WASTEWATER, THE AMOUNT OF VIRUS FOUND TO THE WASTEWATER IS CONTINUING TO GO UP.
RIGHT ABOUT 552% OF THE JULY 6TH, 2020, THE PEAK OF THE FIRST WAVE, WE MADE THAT AT ARBITRARY 100% VALUE.
SO WE'RE FIVE TIMES HIGHER THAN THAT, AND THAT'S UP FROM A, JUST A LITTLE BIT OVER 500% THE PREVIOUS WEEK.
SO IT'S ABOUT AN 11% INCREASE WEEK OVER WEEK.
NOW THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S GOING UP, BUT AGAIN, UH, IN THE PREVIOUS WEEKS WE HAD, WE HAD SEEN A 30% INCREASE, AND IN THE WEEK BEFORE THAT IT WAS ABOUT A 50% INCREASE.
THE RATE OF INCREASE IS LEVELING OFF A LITTLE BIT, MAYBE.
UM, SO, SO THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW, BUT, BUT THERE'S PLENTY OF VIRUS IN THE COMMUNITY AND IT IS SPREADING IS THE BOTTOM LINE THERE.
WELL, THE NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM ASSISTS IN ELIMINATING THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION AMONGST FEDERAL, STATE, AND HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS.
SO I FOUND THIS QUESTION INTERESTING.
WE ACTUALLY, WE HAVE A NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM.
IT'S CALLED THE CDC, UM, THE, SO THE WAY IT FLOWS IS FROM COUNTY TO STATE TO FEDERAL, FEDERAL, UM, IS THE CDC, UM, I, I THINK THAT PERHAPS THERE'S A PERCEPTION THERE THAT WE, WE MAY NOT, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH INFORMATION FLOWING IN FROM SO MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS
[00:05:01]
AS IT SHOULD BE.UM, AND SOMETIMES THERE'S A LAG AND SOMETIMES, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST AGAIN ACROSS THE COUNTRY, YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW DIFFICULT IT IS SOMETIMES TO, UM, SYNTHESIZE EVERYTHING IN A TIMELY MANNER.
AND I THINK WITH COVID, YOU KNOW, THE, EVERYTHING WERE JUST CHANGING, UH, RAPIDLY MM-HMM
AND PEOPLE GOT THE IMPRESSION THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS EITHER A LACK OF COMMUNICATION OR FOLKS DIDN'T KNOW, AND THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WERE UNKNOWN.
SO I JUST THINK THAT WE JUST HAVE TO EMBRACE THAT FACT.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WORKING OUT IN A GYM NOW THAT THERE'S NO MASK MANDATE? YEAH, SO I, YOU KNOW, THIS SORT OF FITS IN WITH A LOT OF THE THINGS WE'VE SAID BEFORE.
SO THERE, THERE IS RISK GOING TO GYMS. WE, THE CDC HAS ACTUALLY PUBLISHED A COUPLE OF, UH, UH, PAPERS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE, OR IN THE, IN THE LITERATURE LOOKING AT THE SPREAD OF VIRUS IN THE GYM.
AND THERE IS MORE SPREAD IN GYMS THAN SOME OTHER PLACES.
AND THAT'S NOT A BIG SURPRISE.
PEOPLE ARE IN THE, THEY'RE HUFFING AND PUFFING, RIGHT? AND SO IF THEY'RE INFECTED AND THEY DON'T KNOW IT, OR THEY'RE INFECTED, THEY GOT MINIMAL SYMPTOMS AND THEY DON'T THINK THEY HAVE COVID EITHER WAY, WHEN THEY GO IN THERE AND THEY START BREATHING HEAVILY AND HUFFING AND PUFFING, UM, AND COUGHING AND WHAT HAVE YOU, THAT, THAT INCREASES THE, THE SPREAD.
NOW THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, I WILL TELL YOU THAT I GO TO THE GYM, I GO TO THE GYM ALMOST EVERY MORNING, BUT I GO FROM FIVE TILL SIX IN THE MORNING.
THE GYM OPENS AT FIVE, I'M THERE FOR THE FIRST HOUR.
THERE'S HARDLY ANYBODY THERE, ALTHOUGH THERE'S MORE PEOPLE THAN I'D EXPECTED.
AND EVEN WITHIN THE GYM, I, I CAN FIND WAYS OF KEEPING MYSELF SOCIALLY DISTANCED FROM OTHERS.
SO YOU CAN GO TO THE GYM, BUT YOU GOTTA BE SMART ABOUT IT.
AND THERE ARE ON OCCASION, THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE IN THE GYM WEARING MASKS.
UH, THEY TEND TO BE ELDERLY FOLKS, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GO TO THE GYM AND WEAR A MASK.
I WOULD ADVISE YOU WEAR AN N95 MASK TO PROTECT YOURSELF.
BUT, UH, YEAH, THE GYM IS A HIGH RISK PLACE TO GO.
SYMPTOMS, STATUS TEST, TESTING.
ARE THERE ANY DIFFERENCES IN THIS VARIANT SYMPTOMS? UM, SO IT'S NOT CONFIRMED, YOU KNOW, BUT WE ARE SEEING SOME SLIGHT DIFFERENCES.
SO FOR INSTANCE, IN THE PREVIOUS VARIANTS IN ALPHA AND DELTA, UM, MORE PEOPLE, UH, LOST TASTE AND SMELL.
AND THAT IN FACT IS HOW SOME PEOPLE IDENTIFIED THAT THEY PERHAPS HAD COVID.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITH THE OMICRON VARIANTS ARE, UM, LESS SEVERE SYMPTOMS, UM, MORE COLD LIKE SYMPTOMS, UPPER RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS. UM, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU, YOU CAN'T HAVE, AND WE HAVE NOT SEEN ALL OF THOSE SYMPTOMS WITH ALL OF THE VARIANTS.
OMICRON PROBLEM'S BEEN AROUND QUITE A WHILE NOW, HASN'T IT? IT HAS, IT'S BEEN YEARS ACTUALLY.
SO IF YOU TEST POSITIVE, UM, YOU SHOULD STAY HOME.
YOU SHOULD ISOLATE YOURSELF AT HOME, AND THAT MEANS REALLY ISOLATE YOURSELF FROM YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS.
REMEMBER, THE PERSON YOU'RE MOST LIKELY TO AFFECT IS, IS A FAMILY MEMBER.
SO ISOLATE AT HOME FOR, UM, A MINIMUM OF FIVE DAYS.
NOW, IF AT THE END OF THE FIVE DAYS YOU'VE BEEN FEVER FREE FOR 24 HOURS AND WHATEVER OTHER SYMPTOMS YOU HAVE ARE, ARE IMPROVING, UH, YOU CAN THEN, YOU KNOW, END YOUR, YOUR ISOLATION.
UM, NOW SOME PEOPLE DON'T HAVE SYMPTOMS AT ALL.
THEY TEST POSITIVE, SO THE PEOPLE WITHOUT SYMPTOMS, THEY STILL NEED TO ISOLATE FOR FIVE DAYS.
AND THEN THE OTHER CAVEAT IS THAT IF YOU GET SICK, LIKE REALLY SICK, MAYBE NOT REQUIRING HOSPITAL, CERTAINLY IF YOU REQUIRE HOSPITALIZATION, BUT EVEN IF YOU GET REALLY SICK AT HOME, UM, OR YOU'VE GOT A WEAKENED IMMUNE SYSTEM, THEN YOU SHOULD ISOLATE FOR ABOUT 10 DAYS BECAUSE YOU'RE CLEARLY, YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM IS NOT FIGHTING IT OFF AS WELL AS, AS A, A, A SOMEBODY WITH A BETTER IMMUNE SYSTEM.
SO YOU'RE LIKELY TO BE CONTAGIOUS FOR LONGER THAN JUST THE FIVE DAYS.
SO YOU SHOULD, IN THAT CASE, YOU SHOULD ISOLATE FOR 10 DAYS.
HOW LONG CAN YOU TEST POSITIVE ON AN ANTIGEN SLASH AT-HOME TEST? GREAT QUESTION.
UM, SO TYPICALLY, UM, LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE IN THE, IN THE HOME TEST AND THE, THE ONE, UM, THAT YOU GET FROM THE OFFICE AND GET SENT OFF, YOU DON'T GET A RESULT BACK IMMEDIATELY.
SO THE ANTIGEN ANTIGEN TEST IS MEANT TO TEST FOR ACUTE INFECTION, MEANING IF IT'S POSITIVE YOU ARE ACUTELY INFECTED, YOU HAVE INFECTION NOW.
UM, SO THAT TYPICALLY CAN LAST UP TO 14 DAYS, BUT IT CAN BE A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
SO USUALLY THOUGH IT LASTS ONLY AS SHORT AS A, A WEEK OR SO.
SO PREVIOUSLY PEOPLE WERE GOING BACK AND GETTING RETESTED FOR THEIR JOB TO GO BACK TO WORK, AND YOU WOULD NOTICE THAT MOST PEOPLE WERE NEGATIVE WHEN THEY GOT A RETEST.
SO TYPICALLY SEVEN DAYS, BUT IT CAN GO AS HIGH AS MAYBE 14 DAYS.
THE PCR TEST, WHICH TAKES A LOOK AT, HAVE YOU BEEN EXPOSED AND, AND MOUNTED SOME RESPONSE AT SOME POINT IN TIME TO, TO THE, UH, COVID, UH, UH, VARIANTS THAT CAN LAST FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
AND SO YOU CAN TEST POSITIVE ON THE PCR TEST FOR MONTHS AFTER,
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BUT NOT BE CURRENTLY.INFECTIOUS SCIENCE.ORG ARTICLE INDICATES THAT IMMUNE BOOSTING BOOSTING BY B 1.1 0.529 OMICRON DEPENDS ON PREVIOUS SARS-COV-2 EXPOSURE.
SO, UH, I'M NOT TOO FAMILIAR ABOUT THE ARTICLE, SO I JUST HAVE A FEW CLIFF NOTES.
UM, BUT IT APPEARS THAT THE ARTICLE, UM, IS, IS PROPOSING THAT IF YOU HAVE, UM, UM, HAD OMICRON INFECTION IN THE PAST, IT MAY, UH, BOOST YOUR IM IMMUNITY.
UM, BUT THE, THE DATA APPARENTLY IS SHOWING THAT THAT MAY NOT BE THE CASE.
SO THAT WAS THE QUESTION, DOES IT BOOST YOUR IMMUNITY? THE DATA IS SHOWING THAT THAT MAY MAY NOT BE THE CASE SPECIFICALLY WITH OMICRON, WHEREAS WITH PREVIOUS VARIANTS, THAT WAS THE CASE WHERE THE DATA WAS SHOWING THAT IF YOU HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY INFECTED, THERE WAS SOME BOOSTING OF IMMUNITY.
THE VIRUS SEEMS TO BE CHANGING MULTIPLE TIMES A YEAR.
DOES THAT PREDICT A FUTURE OF MULTIPLE VACCINE REGIMEN EACH YEAR? YEAH, SO THIS IS A GOOD QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT, UH, THIS IS AN RNA VIRUS, WHICH MEANS IT IS MORE EASILY, UH, MORE, MORE PRONE TO MUTATION AND THAT'S NOT GONNA CHANGE.
IT IS GOING TO, SO AS COMPARED TO SOME OF THE DNA VIRUSES, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, MONKEYPOX IS MAKING A LOT OF NEWS THAT'S A DNA VIRUS THAT DOESN'T MUTATE VERY WELL.
'CAUSE THERE'S TWO STRANDS THAT WOULD BOTH HAVE TO MUTATE IN THE, IN EXACTLY THE RIGHT WAY.
SO I THINK THAT WE CAN EXPECT CONTINUED MUTATION AND MUCH LIKE THE SEASONAL FLU, UH, THAT MUTATES EVERY YEAR.
AND SO YEAH, WE ARE PROBABLY, IT'S NOT UNREASONABLE TO EXPECT THAT WE'LL WIND UP A, A SITUATION LIKE THE FLU WHERE EVERY YEAR THERE WOULD BE A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT VACCINE TO PROTECT YOU AGAINST WHATEVER STRAIN OF COVID IS CIRCULATING THE GLOBE THAT YEAR, THAT THAT COULD EASILY HAPPEN.
IS IT TRUE THAT VACCINATED PEOPLE ARE LESS LIKELY TO DEVELOP A FEVER AS A SYMPTOM OF COVID? IS, IF THAT IS THE CASE, WHY ARE SOME LOCATIONS STILL FOCUSING ON CHECKING TEMPERATURES TO ENTER A BUILDING? YEAH, SO THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
AND ACTUALLY IT'S NOT JUST FEVER, BUT IF YOU'VE BEEN PREVIOUSLY, IF YOU HAVE IMMUNITY, UH, PREVIOUSLY, WHETHER IT BE FROM VACCINE OR FROM A PREVIOUS INFECTION, FOR MOST PEOPLE WITH, WITH A SUBSEQUENT INFECTION, WE ANTICIPATE THAT YOUR SYMPTOMS MAY BE BLUNTED A LITTLE BIT.
SO YOU WOULD HAVE LESS FEVER, YOU MAY HAVE LESS, UH, BODY ACHES.
IT REALLY GOES TO WHATEVER YOU'RE INFECTED WITH.
HOW DIFFERENT IS THAT FROM WHAT YOUR PREVIOUS IMMUNITY WAS, RIGHT? SO SOMEBODY GETS INFECTED WITH OMICRON AND THEIR LAST INFECTION WAS THE ALPHA VARIANT.
EARLY ON THEY MAY GET FULL BLOWN SYMPTOMS, WHEREAS IF YOU GET A, A OMICRON INFECTION NOW, AND YOU WERE ALSO INFECTED WITH OMICRON A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, THEN YOU MAY HAVE MUCH, MUCH MILDER SYMPTOMS. AND TO THE POINT OF THE, THE VE THAT THE TEMPERATURE TESTING IS THAT, UM, YEAH, THAT HAS, UH, OPERATIONALLY WE FOUND THAT THAT DIDN'T NECESSARILY PROVIDE THE LEVEL OF PROTECTION WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IT DID.
SO SOME PLACES ARE STILL BEING VERY CONSERVATIVE AND I DON'T BLAME THEM FOR DOING THAT, BUT IT DOES, IT IS A GOOD QUESTION AS WHETHER OR NOT THAT'S ACTUALLY SERVING THE PURPOSE IT WAS INTENDED TO.
THE CDC SAYS, PREGNANT PEOPLE WHO BECOME INFECTED ARE SIGNIFICANTLY OR LIKELY TO NEED INTENSIVE, UH, UH, CARE AND TO DELIVER BABIES PREMATURELY.
HAVE THERE BEEN ENOUGH STUDIES TO PROVE THIS? UM, SO NO, THE, THE SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION, WE'RE STILL LEARNING ABOUT COVID JUST IN GENERAL.
UM, BECAUSE WE'RE STILL FIGHTING COVID.
UH, BUT YES, THE DATA IS INDICATIVE THAT, UM, PREGNANT MOMS WHO ARE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED, WHICH IS, WHICH IS A GROUP OF, OF PEOPLE THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT ALL ALONG ARE AT HIGHER RISK.
UM, UM, PREGNANT MOMS ARE AT HIGHER RISK.
AND SO YES, WE ARE SEEING SOME OF THAT IN THE DATA, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN PROVEN OUT YET.
I KNOW IT'S THE RIGHT OF A PARENT TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE CHILDREN SHOULD RECEIVE VACCINATIONS.
HAVE YOU HEARD OF ANY OPTIONS FOR A CHILD WHO IS STRESSED ABOUT BEING LEFT OUT OF ACTIVITIES WITH FRIENDS BECAUSE PARENTS REFUSE TO PERMIT VACCINES? SO THIS IS A, YOU KNOW, THE, THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON, UH, KIDS AS WELL AS ADULTS HAS BEEN, UH, REMARKABLE.
RIGHT? AND, AND THERE'S LOTS OF ISSUES TO THIS PARTICULAR QUESTION.
UH, IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PARENT TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THEIR CHILD CAN GET VACCINATED.
UM, AND FOR MOST KIDS, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A DISCUSSION TO BE HAD IN THE HOME AND THERE'S NOT A LOT OF OPTIONS.
AND SO, UM, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER FOR THOSE KIDS.
NOW, YOU KNOW, WHEN SCHOOL IS IN SESSION, THERE ARE COUNSELORS AND STUFF WHERE KIDS CAN GO AND GET MENTAL HEALTH, AND I WOULD MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT.
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ANY KID WHO'S STRUGGLING WITH ANY SORT OF STRESSOR, I WOULD ASK THAT THEY REACH OUT, UM, BECAUSE WE SEE A LOT OF OTHER MENTAL HEALTH IMPACTS COMPLETELY ASIDE FROM COVID, THAT KIDS NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT YOU AND THERE ARE OPTIONS AVAILABLE.UM, JUST THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND BULLYING AND ALL THAT.
UH, VERY REAL, VERY PROBLEMATIC.
AND SO, UM, REACH OUT TO THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO YOU, MOST COMMONLY THROUGH KIDS GROUPS AND YOUR SCHOOLS.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DEVELOP AN IMMUNITY POST COVID? YEAH, SO YOUR, YOUR IMMUNITY DEVELOPS ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.
SO WHEN YOU'RE ILL AND YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM IS RESPONDING, UH, YOU'RE PRODUCING ANTIBODIES AND THAT'S REALLY THE WHAT HAPPENS, AND THAT'S WHAT GETS RID OF THE INFECTION.
SO YOU'VE GOT ANTIBODIES NOW, THEY, THEY REMAIN IN YOUR SYSTEM FOR THREE TO SIX MONTHS.
AS SOON AS YOUR SYMPTOMS ARE GONE, YOU'VE ALREADY GOT SOME LEVEL OF IMMUNITY, BIVALENT VACCINE NEWS.
SO BIVALENT VACCINES, UM, LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE FIRST.
BIVALENT VACCINES, UM, HAVE ANTIGEN TWO, UM, MORE THAN ONE VARIANT.
UM, SO WE'RE SEEING DIFFERENT VARIANTS, YOU KNOW, UM, COMING UP IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
WE'RE NOW IN THE OMICRON AND IT'S SUB VARIANTS.
UM, AND SO BIVALENT VACCINES, UH, WILL BE HELPFUL, UM, AS THE, THE VIRUS CONTINUES TO MUTATE.
AS DAVID SAID, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN BECAUSE IT'S JUST A NORMAL PROGRESSION OF AN RNA VACCINE OR RNA VIRUS RATHER.
SO, UM, MODERNA RECENTLY ANNOUNCED, UH, THAT THEY WERE, UM, WORKING ON A, A BIVALENT BOOSTER.
UM, AND SO WE'RE THE CDC AND FDA ARE LOOKING AT THAT, AND THE HOPE IS THAT SOMETHING WILL BE OUT BY THE FALL.
KIDS UNDER FIVE CAN FINALLY BE VAX, SHOULD I DO IT NOW OR CLOSER TO SCHOOL STARTING.
DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT VAX VACCINE? LITTLE ONES? WHAT SHOULD I CONSIDER? YEAH, SO, SO THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION.
SO FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD ENCOURAGE PARENTS WHO WANT THEIR KIDS TO GET VACCINATED, GO AHEAD AND DO IT NOW, AND FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.
ONE IS, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IS WHETHER YOU GET THE MODERNA, THAT'S A TWO SHOT SERIES.
IF YOU GET PFIZER, THAT'S A THREE SHOT SERIES.
AND SO YOU WANT TO GET IT, GET THAT BALL ROLLING NOW SO THAT BY THE TIME SCHOOL STARTS, YOUR, YOUR CHILD HAS, HAS IMMUNITY.
THE OTHER THING IN, IN TERMS OF CONCERNS, I REALLY DON'T.
NOW WITH OMICRON, WE ACTUALLY SAW, AND I'M TALKING ABOUT THIS LAST, YOU KNOW, JANUARY, FEBRUARY REGION WITH THAT WAVE, WE SAW A HUGE NUMBER OF KIDS GETTING INFECTED, WHICH WE REALLY HADN'T SEEN WITH THE PREVIOUS WAVES.
AND THERE ARE 400, OVER 440 CHILDREN HAVE DIED IN THE UNITED STATES FROM, FROM COVID.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THOUSANDS MORE WERE ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL.
ABOUT A THIRD OF THE KIDS WHO WERE HOSPITALIZED HAD A, UM, UH, HAD NO PREEXISTING ILLNESS BETWEEN A THIRD AND A HALF, HAD NO PREEXISTING ILLNESS.
SO PARENTS WHO THINK THAT, WELL, I ONLY REALLY NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IF MY KID HAS A LONGSTANDING ILLNESS, IF MY KID'S HEALTHY, I PROBABLY DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IT.
REMEMBER A LOT OF THE KIDS WHO GOT ADMITTED HAD NO PRE-STANDING, UH, UH, PREVIOUS, UH, ILLNESSES AND A QUARTER OF ALL THE KIDS WHO GOT ADMITTED ONE UP IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT.
SO FOR THE KIDS WHO BECOME SICK, THEY BECOME VERY SICK.
UM, AND, AND LIKE I SAID, WE'VE HAD OVER 400 KIDS WHO HAVE DIED.
SO I WOULD ABSOLUTELY LEAN FORWARD AND GET MY, UH, CHILD VACCINATED.
UM, I'LL TELL YOU MY, YOU KNOW, MY DAUGHTER'S 25, UM, MY OTHER DAUGHTER'S 40, UH, WE GOT THREE GRANDKIDS.
THEY'RE ALL, THEY'RE ALL VACCINATED.
THERE'S NO QUESTION, WHICH VACCINATION DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR MY 6-YEAR-OLD POWER PROTECTION VERSUS MORE SEVERE SYMPTOMS? UM, SO FOR, FOR BOTH, UM, SIX MONTH AND SIX YEAR OLDS, BOTH PFIZER AND MODERNA ARE AVAILABLE.
SO I, I REALLY DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION ON EITHER ONE.
THEY BOTH HAVE, UM, GREAT EFFICACY.
UM, UM, IT REALLY JUST DEPENDS.
SO FOR PFIZER, AS, AS, UM, DAVID SPOKE TO PFIZER'S A THREE DOSE SERIES FOR OUR, UM, INFANTS TO, UH, FIVE-YEAR-OLDS.
AND MODERNA IS A TWO DOSE SERIES.
UM, BUT IT REALLY JUST DEPENDS ON YOUR PREFERENCE AND WHAT'S AVAILABLE AT THE LOCATION THAT YOU GO TO.
I, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC PREFERENCE.
I DON'T KNOW, DAVID, IF YOU HAD ANYTHING MORE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.
THE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE RIGHT NOW IS THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE IS A TWO SHOT SERIES, THE OTHER'S A THREE SHOT SERIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE, THE, THE STUDIES THAT ARE OUT HAVE SHOWN THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE SAFE.
NOW ADMITTEDLY, THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE COMPLAINING THAT THE NUMBER OF OF SUBJECTS IN THE STUDIES WAS RELATIVELY SMALL, AND THAT'S TRUE.
BUT WE, WHAT THEY HAVE SHOWN, OR WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN IS THAT THE, THE YOUNGER KIDS, THERE WAS A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE TEENAGERS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MYOCARDITIS, NOT SEEING ANY OF THAT WITH THE, WITH THE PRE-TEEN KIDS.
SO, UM, I'M, I HAVE LESS CONCERN AND MORE CONFIDENCE IN THESE VACCINES PERHAPS THAN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD
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A LITTLE BIT OF A SURPRISE THAT MYOCARDITIS AND EVEN WITH THE MYOCARDITIS FOR THE, FOR THE PARENTS OF TEENS WHO WERE STILL SAYING THE, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE KIDS DID ABSOLUTELY FINE, AND IT WAS REALLY, REALLY RARE.UH, AND MYOCARDITIS HAPPENS OTHERWISE IN KIDS COMPLETELY, ASIDE FROM COVID AND VACCINES.
AND, UM, AND KIDS WHO GET INFECTED HAVE A HIGHER RISK OF GETTING MYOCARDITIS FROM THE INFECTION THAN THEY DID FROM THE VACCINE.
SO THERE IS NO ZERO RISK OPTION.
I THINK THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE ZERO RISK OPTION, THERE IS NONE YOUR, YOUR CHILD'S EITHER GONNA GET INFECTED WITH THE WAY THIS IS SPREADING LIKE CRAZY, OR YOU CAN PROTECT 'EM WITH VACCINES.
SO IT'S KIND OF A NO BRAINER FROM MY, MY STANDPOINT, F-D-A-E-U-A TO PFIZER MODERNA FOR INFANTS, TODDLERS AND PRIESTS SCHOOL KIDS.
I'M WEIGHING THE TWO VERSUS THREE SHOTS TIME TO BE VACCINATED.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT IS IT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT IF YOU GO PFIZER, IT'S GONNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
WELL, IF YOU GO PFIZER, IT'LL TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER TO GET, UH, FULLY VACCINATED.
THE OTHER THING IS MODERNA'S LOOKING AT THE IMPACT OF A THIRD SHOT.
SO I WON'T BE THE LEAST BIT SURPRISED IF IN A COUPLE MONTHS WE FIND OUT THAT THE MODERNA IS ACTUALLY A THREE SHOT SERIES AS WELL, THAT THAT WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME CHANGING THE QUE THE SUBJECT ON US.
I SAID, WHO SAYS MONKEYPOX IS REAL RISK TO PUBLIC HEALTH.
NOW THAT WE HAVE A CASE OF MONKEYPOX CONFIRMED IN HOUSTON, HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU? HOW DOES IT SPREAD? UM, SO, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING WE, UM, JUST THE COLLEAGUES JUST DISCUSSED THIS MORNING.
UM, RIGHT NOW THERE IS NOT A HIGH RISK OF SPREAD OF MONKEYPOX.
UM, THE REASON THAT WE'RE EVEN DISCUSSING IS BECAUSE THERE'S NOT NO RISK.
THERE IS SOME RISK, BUT THERE'S NOT HIGH RISK.
AND IN ORDER TO NOT MOVE ALONG THE CONTINUUM TO HIGH RISK, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT IT IS, HOW IT SPREADS, UM, UM, AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO MITIGATE THE SPREAD OF IT, UM, SO THAT WE DON'T GET TO A POINT WHERE IT DOES BECOME OF CONCERN.
UM, THERE AS, AND I, I'M GONNA TAKE SOMETHING, UM, DR.
PER SAID EARLIER, THERE ARE MANY MORE THINGS THAT ARE MUCH MORE COMMON THAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE COMMUNITY THAN MONKEYPOX, BUT OBVIOUSLY IT IS HAPPENING.
SO THE SECOND PIECE ABOUT HOW DOES IT SPREAD MONKEYPOX, MONKEYPOX IS SPREAD THROUGH DIRECT CONTACT.
UM, SO THAT MAY BE INTIMATE CONTACT, THAT CAN BE CONTACT WITH, UM, LINENS AND BEDSHEETS, UM, UM, FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS THE RASH.
UM, AND THE RASH MAY BE WEEPING, UM, ET CETERA.
BUT IT IS SPREAD THROUGH SOME DIRECT CONTACT.
UM, SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS, UM, CAN BE WHAT WE WOULD CALL A PRODROME OF, UH, FATIGUE, UM, FEVER, UH, LYMPH ADENOPATHY WHERE YOUR LYMPH NODES ARE A LITTLE BIT SWOLLEN, JUST GENERALLY NOT FEELING WELL, UM, WHICH PROGRESSES ONTO THE RASH.
AND SOMETIMES PEOPLE TOTALLY MISS THE PRODROME, AND, AND THEY, AND THEY, THE FIRST SIGN OF IT FOR THEM IS THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE RASH.
THE RASH CAN BE, UM, IN DIFFERENT STAGES AS WELL.
IT CAN BE PIMPLES, IT CAN BE BLISTERS AND VESICLES.
UM, SOME OF THEM CAN BE SCABBED.
UM, SO THE KEY IS THIS, BE VIGILANT ABOUT IT, IT IS RARE.
UM, SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS TO, OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE WE SAY THIS IS SOMETHING JUMP TO THE, OH, I THINK I HAVE MONKEYPOX, BUT AT THE SAME TIME BE VIGILANT ABOUT IT, UM, SPECIFICALLY FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERNATIONAL TRAVELERS.
UM, SPECIFICALLY FOR, FOR THOSE WHO, UM, UM, ARE, ARE, UM, UH, IN THE L-G-B-T-Q COMMUNITY, UM, AS WELL BE VIGILANT ABOUT IT, IF YOU DEVELOP A FEVER, IF YOU DEVELOP AN UNKNOWN RASH AND IT LOOKS LIKE PIMPLES, IT LOOKS LIKE VESICLES, UM, UM, SOMETIMES, UM, UM, IN THE GENITAL AREA, BUT OTHER TIMES AS WELL CAN BE IN OTHER AREAS.
THE TIME IS THE, THE KEY IS JUST TO GO GET CHECKED OUT.
THE, THE LIKELIHOOD OF IT BEING MONKEYPOX IS STILL VERY LOW.
IT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING ELSE, BUT JUST GO AND GET CHECKED OUT BY YOUR LOCAL PROVIDER.
IS THERE A PCR TEST FOR ONIC? YES.
THE, THE TEST THAT WE USE, IT'S A TWO STEP PROCESS, BUT IT IS A PCR, WHICH MEANS IT'S HIGHLY ACCURATE.
UH, IT'S A P BUT IT IS PCR BASED.
WE'RE, WE'RE CHANGING WHAT IS THE LATEST ON BIRD AVIAN FLU
UH, AND 393 COUNTIES HAVE BEEN AFFECTED.
UM, IN TERMS OF, UM, UM, SEVERE ILLNESS AND DEATH, THOUGH, UM, THERE REALLY HASN'T BEEN, UM, VERY MUCH SEVERE, SEVERE ILLNESS AND DEATH.
[00:25:01]
REPORTS FOR, UM, TEXAS WERE IN MAY, AND SO WE'RE ALL NOW ALMOST OUT OF JUNE.UM, SO THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT STILL WATCHING.
UM, BUT, BUT THE THREAT SEEMS TO BE DECREASING A LITTLE BIT, AT LEAST IN OUR AREA.
AND I KNOCK ON WOOD FOR SAYING THAT BECAUSE USUALLY THAT, THAT MEANS I'M BRINGING SOMETHING BACK
UM, SO CURRENTLY TRANSMISSION IS OBVIOUSLY FROM INFECTED BIRDS TO PEOPLE, BUT AGAIN, THE KEY IS HERE THAT THE, THE RISK IS, IS FAIRLY LOW, AND WE HAVE NOT SEEN, UM, ANY REPORTING IN OUR REGION, UH, SINCE LAST MONTH.
I DON'T KNOW, DAVID, IF YOU HAD ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO ADD? NO, THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
IT, YOU KNOW, THIS HAPPENS PRETTY MUCH EVERY YEAR AND, UH, SO FAR THE TRANSMISSION OF HUMANS HAS BEEN EXTREMELY LOW.
AND LET'S HOPE THAT IT STAYS THAT WAY.
IS THERE ANY CONCERN ON TRANSMISSION AND FOOD AND FOOD? SO WITH, WITH UH, INFLUENZA, NO, BUT PERHAPS THIS QUESTION IS GOING REALLY TOWARDS MONKEYPOX.
AND, UH, SO I, IN THE UNITED STATES, NO, I, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY CONCERN ABOUT TRANSMISSION AND FOOD.
WE DO HEAR THAT PEOPLE IN AFRICA WHO LIVE IN THE JUNGLE CONTRACT MONKEYPOX, 'CAUSE THEY EAT WHAT'S CALLED BUSH MEAT, WHICH IS REALLY JUST THE MEAT OF THE ANIMALS IN THE, IN THE JUNGLE.
UH, BUT HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY CONCERN FOR TRANSMISSION THROUGH FOOD.
IS FLU SEASON THIS YEAR PREDICTED TO BE MILD? WE DON'T KNOW YET.
UM, FLU SEASON IS A LITTLE BIT, UM, FUNKY THIS YEAR IN TERMS OF, UM, JUST WHAT WE'RE SEEING.
SO, UM, OBVIOUSLY WE HAD COVID INFECTION.
FLU SEASON SEEMS TO BE GOING A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN PREVIOUS.
UM, UM, BUT I, I WOULDN'T SAY THAT, UM, THE, THE NUMBER OF CASES ARE, UM, UM, UNUSUALLY HIGH THIS YEAR.
UM, SO I THINK THE KEY IS WE'RE JUST STILL WATCHING.
UM, AND WE DO HAVE SOME, WE HAVE HAD SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL, UM, DEVELOPING THE FLU AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR.
IS IT TOO LATE TO GET A FLU SHOT? ALMOST.
SO I, I CAN SPEAK FOR PUBLIC HEALTH.
SO, SO A FEW THINGS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, YOU HAVE TO BASE THIS OFF OF WHAT WE TRADITIONALLY KNOW.
AS I SAID, THE, THE, THE FLU SEASON IS GOING A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
WE BASE THE FLU SHOT ON THE TRADITIONAL FLU SEASON.
SO TRADITIONAL FLU SEASON, WE START IN AUGUST AND WE GO ALL THE WAY TO, UM, UM, APRIL OR SO.
UM, MIND YOU THAT, UH, AS DAVID SAID BEFORE, THE IMMUNITY TYPICALLY FOR A FLU VACCINE IS ABOUT SIX MONTHS.
UM, SO IT, IT PROB AT THIS POINT, THE NEW FLU VACCINE FOR THIS COMING YEAR WILL BE OUT IN A FEW MONTHS.
UM, DOES IT HURT YOU TO GET A FLU VACCINE? NO, BUT I, I DON'T KNOW THAT EVERYBODY HAS FLU VACCINE ANYMORE BECAUSE THE NEW ONE, THE NEW ONES HAVE EVEN BEEN ORDERED AND ARE ON THEIR WAY.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US WITH COVID-19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES, DR.
ERICA BROWN, REPRESENTING HARRIS COUNTY, DR. DAVID PER REPRESENTING THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PRODUCERS, DAVID CASTILLO AND PRISCILLA KEY AND PAST PRESIDENT OF ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, KATHY FINNER, WHO PROVIDES US WITH THESE QUESTIONS.
I'M STEPHEN WILLIAMS, THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.