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GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO COVID-19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
JOINING ME, UH, FROM HARRIS COUNTY IS DR.
ERICA BROWN FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON, UH, DR. DAVID PURSE.
UH, SPECIAL THANKS TO PAST PRESIDENT ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, KATHY FINNER AND OUR PRODUCER, UH, DAVID CASTILLO.
I'M STEVEN WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
WELL, AS HEALTH AUTHORITIES, Y'ALL HAVE BEEN PRETTY BUSY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, NOT ONLY WITH COVID, BUT ALSO, UH, WITH MONKEYPOX.
THERE'S STILL A NUMBER OF COVID QUESTIONS.
WITH THE NEW GUIDELINES, COVID SEEMED TO BE TREATED LIKE ANY OTHER VIRUS.
WOULD YOU SIMPLY BY SAYING, WOULD YOU SIMPLIFY BY SAYING SYMPTOMATIC, STAY HOME? WHAT ABOUT ASYMPTOMATIC WITHOUT A HOUSEHOLD MEMBER? POSITIVE? SO, DAVID, YOU WANNA JUMP IN? OH, I, I'LL TAKE THAT.
UM, I, IF I UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION, WE'RE ASKING ABOUT ASYMPTOMATIC POSITIVE FAMILY MEMBERS AND WHAT SHOULD THE FAMILY MEMBERS DO? SO THAT, THAT'S THE QUESTION I'M GOING TO ANSWER.
UM, FAMILY MEMBERS, UH, UH, ARE ASKED TO MONITOR THEMSELVES FOR SYMPTOMS. THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED OR ASKED TO QUARANTINE ANY LONGER UNLESS THEY ARE BECOME SYMPTOMATIC, THEN THEY SHOULD GO TO THE TESTING ROUTE.
WHAT THEY ARE ASKED TO DO, AS WE ALL SHOULD BE DOING STILL, UM, IS, IS WEAR A MASK.
UM, ANYTIME THEY'RE IN, UH, PUBLIC OR GOING OUT, UH, FOR, FOR ANY REASON, THEY SHOULD WEAR A MASK FOR CERTAINLY THE TIME THAT THE, THAT THE POSITIVE PERSON, UM, IS EXPERIENCING SYMPTOMS AND 10 DAYS AFTER THAT TIME.
BUT I, I KNOW IT'S, IT'S CONFUSING.
SO, SO ULTIMATELY TO MAKE IT REAL SIMPLE, WEAR A MASK.
IF YOU BECOME SYMPTOMATIC, GO GET TESTED.
FDA SAID ASYMPTOMATIC PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE THREE TESTS 48 HOURS APART TO REDUCE FALSE NEGATIVES.
AND THOSE WITH SYMPTOMS TAKEN TWO TESTS 48 HOURS APART.
SO THIS GOES TO THE REALIZATION THAT THE AT-HOME RAPID TESTS ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME DEGREE OF FALSE NEGATIVE.
IT'S DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU READ, IT'S ANYWHERE BETWEEN PERHAPS 20% IN SOME PLACES AS HIGH AS 40%.
BUT WHAT IT HAS TO DO WITH IS THAT IN ORDER FOR THE TEST TO TURN POSITIVE, YOU HAVE TO, UM, HAVE ENOUGH VIRUS AND ENOUGH IMMUNE RESPONSE FOR IT TO SHOW UP ON THE TEST.
SO, EARLY INFECTIONS WHERE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN INFECTED, THERE ARE STARTING TO HAVE A RESPONSE.
IT MAY JUST NOT BE ENOUGH TO TURN THE TEST POSITIVE.
SO WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IS, IF YOU JUST, SO, IF YOU THINK YOU'VE BEEN EXPOSED.
SO I HAD DINNER WITH A BUNCH OF FRIENDS LAST NIGHT AND I GOT A CALL THIS MORNING AND ONE OF 'EM TESTED POSITIVE.
HE FELT CRUMMY LAST NIGHT AT DINNER, DIDN'T DO ANYTHING.
BUT TODAY HE DECIDED TO TEST, OH MY GOSH, IT'S POSITIVE.
AND WE WERE AT DINNER TOGETHER LAST NIGHT.
IT DOES ME A LITTLE GOOD TO TEST RIGHT NOW.
'CAUSE IF I WAS INFECTED LAST NIGHT, I'M NOT GONNA TEST POSITIVE TODAY.
SO WHAT I'M ADVISING PEOPLE TO DO IS, REMEMBER THE INCUBATION PERIOD IS GENERALLY UP TO FIVE DAYS, IS TO WEAR A MASK FOR THE FIVE DAYS AND TRY TO ISOLATE YOURSELF AS BEST YOU CAN.
AND THEN BEGINNING ON THE FOURTH OR FIFTH DAY, TAKE A TEST.
IF IT'S NEGATIVE, CONTINUE TO ISOLATE AND PROTECT YOURSELF OR PROTECT YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS IN PARTICULAR FOR 48 HOURS.
SO WHAT THE FDA IS SAYING, IF YOU'RE ASYMPTOMATIC, YOU SHOULD DO THAT UP TO THREE TESTS.
IF YOU DEVELOP SYMPTOMS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A CHANCE YOU'RE INFECTED WITH SOMETHING ELSE.
BUT IF YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS AND YOU WIND UP HAVING TWO NEGATIVE TESTS, FOUR, EIGHT HOURS APART, YOU'RE PROBABLY INFECTED WITH SOMETHING ELSE.
'CAUSE IF YOU'RE HAVING SYMPTOMS AFTER YOUR SECOND TEST, IF YOU HAD COVID, YOU SHOULD HAVE TESTED POSITIVE BY THEN.
A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT SPIN, BUT RELATED, IF EXPOSED TO COVID, YOU WEAR A MASK FOR 10 DAYS, IS IT CORRECT THAT THE VACCINE STATUS DOESN'T MATTER? VACCINATION STATUS DOESN'T MATTER.
IT IS CORRECT BECAUSE AS WE KNOW, UH, WITH THE VARIANTS, UH, SOME OF THE VACCINES THAT ARE, UH, CURRENTLY AVAILABLE, UH, MAY NOT BE AS EFFICACIOUS AGAINST, UH, THE NEWER STRAIN.
SO YES, IT, IT, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU'RE VACCINATED OR NOT, YOU SHOULD WEAR A MASK.
PER, YOU RECENTLY SAID SHE, WE HAVE REACHED HERD IMMUNITY, HAS BA FIVE HAD ITS WORST IMPACT.
BRO AND I WERE ON A TALK THIS MORNING AND, UH, THE ESTIMATES ARE NOW THAT IN THE HIGH 90% OF PEOPLE IN HOUSTON, HARRIS COUNTY HAVE ANTIBODIES, WHETHER THAT'S FROM A PREVIOUS INFECTION OR IT'S FROM VACCINATION.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HERD IMMUNITY, THAT'S WHERE, THAT'S WHERE I'M GETTING THAT FROM, IS THAT WE'VE GOT, UH, A HIGH DEGREE OF IMMUNE.
NOW, NOW THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT PEOPLE AREN'T GOING TO GET INFECTED AGAIN, EVEN IF YOU'VE GOT ANTIBODIES, BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN A BUNCH OF VARIANTS AND YOUR IMMUNITY IS GOING TO WANE OVER TIME, UH, THAT
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WE'VE SEEN.SO, UM, THIS LAST WAVE OF VA FIVE SPREAD, YOU KNOW, IT, THE THING ABOUT VA FIVE IS THE SPREAD SO EASILY AND SO RAPIDLY.
SO WE SAW A LOT OF FOLKS, WE SAW WHITE WASTEWATER SHOOT UP VERY HIGH.
AND NOW THINGS ARE TRENDING DOWN.
SO I THINK THAT BA FIVE SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY PRETTY EFFECTIVELY.
WE DIDN'T TAKE A BIG HIT IN TERMS OF PEOPLE GETTING HOSPITALIZED OR, OR DYING.
PEOPLE DID DIE, BUT NOT TO THE RATE AND THE NUMBERS WE SAW BEFORE.
UM, MY PREDICTION IS WE WILL SEE MORE WAVES 'CAUSE THERE'S SOME PEOPLE'S IMMUNITY.
WE'LL GET SOME MORE, BUT THERE JUST WON'T BE ANYWHERE NEAR WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST.
ASSUMING WE GET NO NEW VARIANTS, WASTEWATER, COVID, MONKEYPOX, POLIO, ANYTHING ELSE SNEAKING IN? SO THAT'S A WASTEWATER ONE.
SO WE'RE ABOUT TO PRETTY SOON HERE, THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO, WE HOPE WE'LL BE REPORTING MONKEY P AND PERHAPS POLIO IN THE WASTEWATER AS WELL.
UM, AT THIS POINT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE KEEPING AN EYE ON A COUPLE THINGS.
THERE'S THE BA 2.75 THAT REALLY DOESN'T SEEM TO BE SPREADING TOO MUCH, SO WE MAY NOT NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN THERE'S A, UM, ANOTHER ILLNESS THAT, WHICH THERE'S A HANDFUL OF CASES IN CHINA, UM, FORGETTING THE NAME THAT THEY GAVE IT.
BUT, UM, UH, THAT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE SPREADING ANY.
SO RIGHT NOW, UH, COVID, MONKEYPOX AND POLIO, I THINK THAT'S ENOUGH.
FOR THOSE HAVING LOSS OF TASTE AND SMELL, ARE WOMEN MORE LIKELY TO HAVE PERMANENT IMPACT? AND ARE PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO RECOVER SMELL BEFORE TASTE? SO THIS IS PRETTY INTERESTING.
UM, THE LIMITED DATA THAT WE HAVE DOES INDICATE THAT WOMEN, UH, ARE MORE, ARE MORE LIKELY, UM, TO LOSE, UH, UH, TASTE AND SMELL, SPECIFICALLY SMELL.
UM, AGAIN, I I, I AM CAUTIOUS ABOUT THE DATA BECAUSE WE'RE STILL ANALYZING.
AND SO, AND, AND THE SET, UM, THAT WAS LOOKED AT, THE SET OF PEOPLE THAT WAS LOOKED AT IS EXTREMELY SMALL.
UM, BUT OF THAT IT DOES APPEAR THAT THAT WOMEN ARE MORE AFFECTED.
THE GOOD NEWS, THOUGH, IS THAT BY SIX MONTHS, IT SEEMS THAT ALMOST EVERYBODY RECOVERS THEIR TASTE AND OR SMELL, UH, IF THEY LOSE IT, HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT I NEVER HAD COVID? I'VE STARTED HEARING PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE IMMUNE TURNING UP WITH LIGHT CASES.
SO THAT'S A GOOD, UH, QUESTION.
SO I, FOR ONE, I DON'T THINK I'VE BEEN INFECTED.
UM, I MEAN, LEMME PUT IT THIS WAY, I'VE NEVER BECOME SYMPTOMATIC.
SO I KNOW I'VE BEEN UP TO DATE, UP TO DATE ON MY VACCINES ALL ALONG, AND I'VE BEEN WEARING MASKS AND I'VE BEEN PROTECTING MYSELF.
BUT IF I WERE TO GET A TEST THAT CAME BACK TO, SHOWED THAT I HADN'T FACT BEEN INFECTED, I WOULDN'T BE TERRIBLY SURPRISED.
'CAUSE REMEMBER, ABOUT 40% OF PEOPLE WHO ARE INFECTED HAVE NO SYMPTOMS AT ALL.
BUT I THINK THE CHANCE OF SOMEBODY WHO, UH, TO ACTUALLY HAVE NEVER BEEN INFECTED IS REALLY SMALL.
AND LIKE I SAID EARLIER, WE KNOW THAT FROM THE, THE TESTS THAT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS TELLING US THAT WE, IT'S LIKE 98% OF THE PEOPLE HAVE GOT ANTIBODIES.
SO I'M THINKING YOUR CHANCE OF HAVING NEVER BEEN INFECTED IS LESS THAN 2%
WHEN MY KIDS WERE YOUNG, THE DESIRE FOR THE PERFECT ATTENDANCE AWARD ENDED UP SPREADING ALL TYPES OF ILLNESSES.
NOW, SOME HOUSTON EMPLOYERS ARE ELIMINATING COVID PAID SICK.
SO, I I, DAVID, DO YOU WANNA TAKE IT AS THEY'RE ASKING ABOUT HOUSTON? IT DOESN'T MATTER.
SO I, YOU KNOW, UM, I, I THINK AS WE, WE CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, UM, HOPEFULLY, UM, MOVING TO AN ENDEMIC STATE, UM, BUT NOT THERE YET.
UM, I THINK WE DO NEED TO CONSIDER HOW DOES, HOW, HOW DO WE AS A SOCIETY, UM, TREAT THIS IN OUR REGULAR DAILY LIVES, LIKE OTHER REGULAR ILLNESSES THAT, THAT WE WOULD SEE.
UM, UM, WHILE PERFECT ATTENDANCE IS ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING TO STRIVE FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, IN SCHOOL IT IS A, IT'S A BADGE OF HONOR.
SOMETIMES, FRANKLY, THOUGH, I THINK IT IS TO A FAULT OF THE SAFETY AND HEALTH OF THE CHILD AND THE, AND THE WELLBEING OF, OF ALL OF THOSE, INCLUDING THE TEACHERS AND ALL OF THOSE WHO ASSIST IN THE SCHOOL.
SO, YOU KNOW, UM, IF A CHILD IS SICK, IF A TEACHER IS SICK, THAT WE ARE ENCOURAGING THAT YOU STAY HOME AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.
PERS HAS, HAS OFTEN SAID, IF EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE COVID, YOU GOT SOMETHING.
SO, UH, WE ENCOURAGE YOU ACTUALLY TO STAY HOME.
ONE RECENT STUDY REPORTED IN THE ATLANTIC NOTED THAT OVERALL HOUSEHOLD SECONDARY ATTACK RATE WAS 42.7% FOR EARLY OMICRON, WHAT ARE YOU SEEING? DOES IT DEPEND ON HOW CAREFUL EVERYONE IS? SO THAT, UH, 42.7% THAT COMES FROM AN ARTICLE, UH, A REALLY A PRETTY WELL DONE STUDY IN THE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.
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THEY LOOKED AT THE SECONDARY ATTACK RATE WITHIN HOUSEHOLDS BETWEEN DIFFERENT VARIANTS.AND OMICRON HAD THE HIGHEST AT 42.7.
AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT FOR A MOMENT, THAT'S A PRETTY HIGH SECONDARY ATTACK RATE WITHIN HOUSEHOLDS.
UM, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC NUMBER FOR US, BUT WE'VE BEEN SEEING THE SAME THING.
WE'VE BEEN SEEING A LOT OF INTRA HOUSEHOLD SPREAD OF THE VIRUS, AND THIS JUST REALLY GOES TO THE FACT THAT OMICRON SPREAD SO MUCH MORE EASILY THAN ITS PREVIOUS VARIANTS.
AND THAT IN FACT, IS WHY IT BECAME THE PROMINENT, UH, THE PREDOMINANT, UH, VARIANT THAT WE HAD TO DEAL IS 'CAUSE IT'S SPREAD MORE EASILY.
SO, UM, YEAH, IT'S CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE'VE SEEN AND REALLY NOT A HUGE SURPRISE AFTER RECENTLY RECOVERING FROM COVID.
I'M BEING MORE CAREFUL ABOUT MASKING IN A CROWD, BUT FEEL A LITTLE BIT BULLETPROOF.
HOW LONG CAN I REASONABLY EXPECT TO RETAIN HIGH IMMUNITY? SO THAT'S A LOADED QUESTION.
UM, UM, OFTENTIMES AT THIS POINT WHEN YOU'RE, YOU ARE RECOVERING OR HAVE HAD RECENT COVID INFECTION, WE'RE NOT CLEAR ON WHICH STRAIN YOU'VE HAD.
UM, WE DO KNOW THAT YOU CAN HAVE, UH, REINFECTION IN, IN A FAIRLY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO RECENT INFECTION.
UM, SO, SO I, I THINK IT'S A, UM, A MISNOMER THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE BULLETPROOF, IT DOES AFFORD YOU SOME IMMUNITY, BUT BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERENT STRAINS THAT ARE OUT, UM, YOU, YOU MAY AND CAN BE REINFECTED, SO STILL ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO AHEAD AND WEAR THE MASK.
I THINK THAT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
MODERNA'S, CEO LIKING COVID VACCINES TO AN IPHONE WHERE YOU GET A NEW ONE EVERY YEAR.
IS IT TRUE? WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHO WROTE THIS QUESTION, BUT, OR I DON'T KNOW THAT MODERNA CO BUT I DON'T GET A NEW IPHONE EVERY YEAR.
SO, UH, LEMME START OFF WITH THAT.
UH, SECONDARILY, THE IDEA OF GETTING VACCINATED FOR COVID EVERY YEAR, THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE NEED TO FIND OUT RIGHT NOW.
WE KNOW THAT THE ANTIBODIES THAT YOU INITIALLY PRODUCE, UH, BEGIN TO WANE FOUR TO SIX MONTHS, BUT THEY DON'T COMPLETELY GO AWAY.
THE OTHER THING, THE OTHER PART OF THE EQUATION IS THE, THE, UH, THE CELLULAR IMMUNITY, THE T-CELL IMMUNITY, UH, THAT'S THE LONG-TERM IMMUNITY.
WE DON'T, WE HAVE A GREAT FEEL RIGHT NOW AS TO HOW, UM, EFFECTIVE THAT WILL BE.
SO I THINK THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF HOMEWORK THAT WE STILL NEED TO DO TO FIND OUT.
AND OF COURSE, THEN AGAIN, YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE YET ANOTHER NEW VARIANT? SO MODERNA AND PFIZER ARE BOTH ABOUT TO COME OUT PRETTY SOON HERE WITH THE BIVALENT VACCINE, WHICH WILL COVER THE WILD TYPE ORIGINAL, UM, PLUS BA FIVE.
AND SO IT'S POSSIBLE IT WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME, BUT I THINK WE'VE STILL GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO BEFORE WE CAN MAKE THAT DETERMINATION WHETHER OR NOT IT'D BE AN ANNUAL THING.
AND I, BUT I WOULD LIKE, ON THE ANNUAL, I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND PEOPLE WE'VE NOT HAD A LOT OF FLU IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WHICH MEANS OUR HERD IMMUNITY FOR FLU IS PRETTY LOW RIGHT NOW.
SO WE'RE KIND OF A SETUP FOR A REALLY BAD FLU YEAR.
SO, UH, AS SOON AS FLU VACCINE BECOMES AVAILABLE, I'M GETTING MINE.
AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET YOURS TOO.
WHAT ABOUT ONE MNRA VACCINE TO COVER EVERYTHING, INCLUDING FLU
UM, SO, SO THERE'S TWO THINGS OCCURRING RIGHT NOW IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.
ONE IS CONTINUING TO RESEARCH, UM, TO PRODUCE A BIVALENT VACCINE, WHICH WE KNOW SHOULD BE COMING OUT, UM, HOPEFULLY SOMETIME IN THE FALL.
UM, THE SECOND THING THAT'S OCCURRING IS A COVID FLU VACCINE.
UM, BUT THAT, THAT'S A LITTLE FURTHER AWAY THAN THE BIVALENT VACCINE.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE, UNLESS DAVID, YOU HAVE ANY OTHER INFORMATION, IT LOOKS LIKE THAT, THAT, UM, MAY BE AVAILABLE TO US SOMETIME, UH, FOR NEXT YEAR'S FLU SLASH COVID SEASON.
I HAVE A PHARMACIST FAMILY MEMBER AND HAVE BEEN WORRIED FOR THE ENTIRE PANDEMIC, WHY PEOPLE TAKE OFF THEIR MASK COUGH, HAVE GAPS ON SIDES OF MASKS SO LARGE.
YOU CAN INSERT AN APPLE WALK INTO A PHARMACY WITH NO MASK WHILE COUGHING TO ASK FOR A RAPID ANTIGEN TEST.
CAN YOU ASK VIEWERS TO BE CONSIDERATE EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO'S STILL WORKING HIGH RISK JOBS.
I THINK THAT PERSON JUST DID
AND I, I THINK THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY REALLY THOUGH, TO RECOGNIZE ALL OF THOSE, UM, WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE HEALTHCARE FIELD, WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE LOGISTICS OF, OF, UM, ASSISTING THOSE IN THE HEALTHCARE FIELD AND OPERATIONS THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE PANDEMIC, AND REALLY GIVE A BIG THANK YOU TO THEM.
AND, AND TO BE MINDFUL, UM, THAT, THAT THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WORKING A VERY LONG TIME, UM, IN A VERY STRESSFUL SITUATION TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE WHAT THEY NEED, UM, TO RECOVER FROM THIS PANDEMIC.
AND SO THE BEST WE CAN DO TO BE MINDFUL OF THOSE WHO ARE ON THE FRONT LINES, YOU KNOW, I PERSONALLY THINK WE SHOULD DO IT, UM, UM, AND WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY ELSE TO DO SO AS WELL.
PLEASE COMMENT ON AT LEAST EIGHT CASES OF MONKEYPOX AND KIDS.
I KNOW IT'S MY TERM, BUT I'M GONNA DEFER THAT TO DR. BROWN AS HARRIS COUNTY HAS A POSSIBLE PEDIATRIC CASE.
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SURE.SO, UM, UM, OBVIOUSLY WE CANNOT GET INTO A LOT OF DETAIL ABOUT THE CASE, UM, OF, UH, THE EIGHT CASES THAT WE KNOW OF ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UM, SEVEN OF THEM, UM, UM, HAVE BEEN THROUGH DIRECT CONTACT, UM, UM, OF A, OF AN AGE GROUP WHERE DIRECT CONTACT IS, IS CERTAINLY NOT, NOT NECESSARILY, UM, UM, SOMETHING WE WANT TO SEE, BUT, BUT IN TERMS OF JUST THE AGE GROUP, BUT, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY POSSIBLE.
UM, UM, WE DO HAVE A CASE, UH, IN A YOUNGER CHILD THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING, UH, AND WE'LL FOLLOW UP AS SOON AS WE HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THAT ONE.
SEVERAL ARTICLES SAID REBOUNDS ARE SURPRISINGLY COMMON EVEN WITHOUT TAKING PAXLOVID.
ANY IDEA WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS IN PERCENTAGE WITH THOSE REBOUNDING AFTER NO MEDICATION? YEAH, SO THE, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, SO FIRST OF ALL, YOU CAN GET REBOUND WITH AN PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T TAKE PAXLOVID.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT A LITTLE BIT FRUSTRATED ME WHEN THE MEDIA WAS JUMPING ALL OVER PAXLOVID FOR THE REBOUND CASES.
'CAUSE IT HAPPENS EVEN IF YOU DON'T GET, UH, PAXLOVID.
AND SO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO IS REALLY SMALL.
IT'S A, I WANNA SAY, I'D HAVE TO LOOK IT UP.
I WANNA SAY IT'S ONLY ABOUT A 2% DIFFERENCE.
IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT GREATLY DIFFERENT.
UM, AND CERTAINLY NO REASON TO NOT TAKE PAXLOVID.
UM, IT DOESN'T CAUSE REBOUNDS.
IS THE REBOUND USUALLY WORSE AFTER TAKING PAXLOVID? SO REBOUND VARIES FROM PERSON TO PERSON.
UM, AND WE, WE ARE REALLY NOT SURE, AGAIN, STUDIES ARE STILL ONGOING FOR THAT, BUT IT SEEMS TO VARY PERSON TO PERSON.
UH, AND, AND TO, TO ECHO DAVID'S POINT ABOUT THAT CAN HAPPEN IN, IN, UM, PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T TREATED WITH PAXLOVID AS WELL.
HAVE THERE BEEN CASES OF MORE THAN ONE REBOUND CLOSE TOGETHER? SO BIT OF A DIFFICULT QUESTION TO ANSWER, BUT AS CLOSE AS A RELATIVE TERM, BECAUSE WE HAVE HAD CASES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN ILL, HAD SYMPTOMS RECOVERED, AND THEN WITHIN A FEW WEEKS DEVELOPED SYMPTOMS AGAIN.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE QUESTION IS THAT A REBOUND OR IS THAT A ANOTHER INFECTION? AND SO, UM, IT HAS TO DO WITH THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE GAP? AND SO WE, WE'VE CLEARLY SEEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE DEVELOPED SYMPTOMS AGAIN, UH, PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY GOT INFECTED WITH ANOTHER, UH, VARIANT, WHICH GOES TO THE FACT THAT IF YOU WERE INFECTED WITH ALPHA AND THEN YOU GOT EXPOSED TO DELTA, YOU CAN CERTAINLY GET SICK AGAIN.
THERE'S A SUFFICIENT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VIRUSES THAT YES, SOMETIMES YOUR IMMUNITY TO ONE IS NOT GONNA PROVIDE YOU A GREAT IMMUNITY TO THE SECOND ONE.
NOW YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA GET TERRIBLY SICK THE SECOND TIME AROUND.
YOU'RE GONNA GET SOME BENEFIT, BUT SURE, COULD YOU BECOME SYMPTOMATIC? ABSOLUTELY.
DOES PAX EVENT OFFER ONGOING RESISTANCE TO COVID? IF SO, FOR HOW LONG? YEAH, SO, SO TO CLARIFY, PAXLOVID IS NOT MEANT TO OFFER, UH, ONGOING, UM, IMMUNITY, UH, TO, TO COVID.
WHAT IT IS MEANT TO DO IS TO LESSEN SEVERE SYMPTOMS OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH COVID.
UM, SO THE, THE, THE BEST WAY TO PREVENT AGAINST, UH, UH, ONGOING AND OR TO PROVIDE ONGOING RESISTANCE IS VACCINATION A LOT OF REBOUND QUESTIONS.
HOW LONG AFTER AN INFECTION COULD YOU EXPERIENCE A REBOUND? I'M STILL WAITING.
AND ANTICIPATION IS MORE STRESSFUL THAN GETTING IT THE FIRST TIME.
SO THIS KIND OF GOES BACK TO WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER, AND UM, AND I'M NOT REMEMBERING, AND I WAS DR. BROWN, IF YOU REMEMBER, THERE IS A, A DEFINITION IF YOU DEVELOP SYMPTOMS AGAIN WITHIN A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME, IT'S CONSIDERED A REBOUND.
IF IT'S BEYOND THAT, IT'S CONSIDERED A PROBABLE REINFECT, UH, A PROBABLE NEW INFECTION.
IS THAT TWO TO, SO, SO THE CDC IS DEFINING REBOUND AS TWO TO EIGHT DAYS AFTER INITIAL RECOVERY.
WHAT MEDICATION IS RECOMMENDED FOR YOUNG CHILDREN WITH COVID? SO TREATMENT RECOMMENDATIONS DO VARY BY AGE.
UM, SO, UM, SOME MEDICATIONS INCLUDE PAXLOVID, UM, UM, I'M GONNA MESS THIS UP.
BE, UH, BAT TABLOID MEAB, UH, AND REM DVIR, UH, FOR YOUNG CHILDREN.
UM, THE REM DVIR, UM, HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR CHILDREN 28 DAYS, UH, UP TO, UH, THREE, UH, KILOGRAMS, WHICH IS SEVEN POUNDS.
UM, AND THEN, UM, THE OTHERS PAXLOVID, UM, AND, UM, MEAB ARE FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE A LITTLE BIT OLDER, I THINK OVER THE AGE OF 12.
DOES THERE SEEM TO BE A RISE IN NEUROLOGIC COMPLICATIONS IN HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN WITH COVID? SO FOR ANYONE WHO'S HOSPITALIZED WITH COVID, YOUR CHANCES OF A COMPLICATION ARE DEFINITELY HIGHER, AS IS YOUR CHANCES FOR, UH, EXPERIENCING LONG COVID.
UM, SO THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS, IS YES.
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THE FLIP SIDE THOUGH IS THAT FORTUNATELY KIDS TEND TO HAVE FEWER COMPLICATIONS THAN ADULTS.SO, UM, SO THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS.
MANY CHILDREN IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES HAVE NOT BEEN VACCINATED.
WHAT IS BEING DONE TO ASSIST? YEAH, SO THIS IS REALLY A GREAT PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTION, AND IT SPEAKS TO EQUITY.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY, THERE'S BEEN, UH, A LONGSTANDING CULTURE, UM, UM, FOR VARIOUS REASONS, RIGHT, UH, IN THE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
UM, AND, AND, UM, HEALTHCARE, UH, IN GENERAL, INCLUDING PUBLIC HEALTH, HAS NOT ALWAYS DONE A GREAT JOB AT, AT, UM, PROVIDING A GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN TO GET OUT INTO THOSE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, UM, AND ANSWER QUESTIONS AND QUELL ANY FEARS THAT THEY MAY HAVE AND PROVIDE EDUCATION.
UM, SO TO THAT END, COVID REALLY HIGHLIGHTED A LOT OF THOSE GAPS.
AND SO WE HAVE BEEN, UM, AND HOUSTON HAS BEEN, UM, WORKING TOGETHER TO REALLY GET INTO THOSE COMMUNITIES AND PROVIDE GRASSROOTS EDUCATION AND TAKE THE VACCINE, UM, EDUCATION AND OUTREACH TO THE COMMUNITY AS OPPOSED TO ASKING THE COMMUNITY TO COME TO US.
CE BA 2.575 SUB VARIANT OF OMICRON UNDER MONITORING.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SO THIS IS THE MOST RECENT NEW VARIANT THAT SORT OF HIT THE RADAR, AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT STARTED SPREADING IN A COUPLE PLACES AROUND THE WORLD AND, UH, MOST INTERESTINGLY IN, IN INDIA.
UM, AND THE, IT STARTED GROWING.
AND SO THE QUESTION WAS, WAS IT GONNA BECOME THE NEXT VARIANT THAT WAS GONNA HAVE A IMPACT WORLDWIDE? AND WHEN THEY, UH, LOOKED AT IT VERY CLOSELY, THEY FOUND THAT IT WAS SPREADING IN AN AREA IN INDIA WHERE, UM, UH, BA TWO HAD BEEN THE PREDOMINANT VARIANT AND IT TOOK OVER, IF YOU WILL, FROM THAT, IT'S A SUB VARIANT OF BA TWO, HENCE BA 2.75.
IN OTHER PARTS OF INDIA WHERE BA FIVE HAD BEEN PREDOMINANT, IT NEVER REALLY TOOK OFF.
SO IT WAS NOT ABLE TO OUTCOMPETE BA FIVE.
AND SO THEY'RE STILL WATCHING IT, BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO, BASICALLY, IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO OUTCOMPETE BA FIVE, WHICH IS THE ONE THAT IS, UH, IMPACTING MOST OF THE WORLD.
SO STILL KEEPING AN EYE ON IT, BUT AT THIS POINT, UM, KEEPING OUR FINGERS CROSSED, IT'S NOT GONNA BECOME THE NEXT VARIANT THAT WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT.
THE STRESS HORMONE CORTISOL PREDICTS WHO DEVELOPED LONG COVID AND THE SEVERITY OF THE VIRUS, TRUE OR FALSE? SO WE DON'T KNOW.
UM, THERE IS SOME, SOME RECENT DATA THAT SHOWS THAT, UM, POTENTIALLY LOW LEVELS OF, UH, CORTISOL, UH, UH, GO ALONG WITH, UH, LONG COVID SYMPTOMS. UM, CORTISOL IS A STRESS HORMONE.
UM, AND SO HIGH LEVELS, UM, UM, IT APPEARS MAY, UM, WARD OFF LONG COVID, BUT, BUT THERE'S STILL STUDIES GOING ON.
THE UK HAS ALREADY APPROVED THE SPIKE VACCINE BY VALENT ORIGINAL OMICRON, WHICH APPEARS TO BE OF, UH, FOR THE ORIGINAL AND BA ONE, AN ANNOUNCEMENT THIS WEEK PREDICTED AVAILABILITY IN THE US IN THE FALL.
WHERE ARE WE NOW? WHAT VARIANTS WILL THIS TARGET? YEAH, SO HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, BOTH, UM, MODERNA AND PFIZER APPROACH THE FDA WITH A BIVALENT VACCINE RECIPE, I'LL SAY FOR, UH, BA ONE, BA TWO, AND WILD TYPE.
UH, AND THE RESULTS WERE ENCOURAGING THE FDA, AND THEY SAID AT THAT POINT THAT THEY FELT THEY'D BE ABLE TO HAVE MANUFACTURING AND, UH, PRODUCT TO THE COMMUNITY BY, UH, SEPTEMBER.
BUT AT THAT POINT, THE FDA REALIZED THAT, YOU KNOW, BA ONE, BA TWO WERE NO LONGER THE ISSUE IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND SO THEY SORT OF SENT THEM BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AND SAID, YOU KNOW, COME BACK WITH A BIVALENT THAT WILL PROTECT AGAINST BA FIVE.
THE INITIAL PREDICTION WAS THAT THAT WOULD PUSH BACK PRODUCTION TO NOVEMBER, BUT THEY HAVE NOW RECENTLY COME BACK AND SAID THAT NO, THEY'RE STILL THINKING MAYBE LATE SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER.
SO WHERE WE STAND TODAY IS IT LOOKS LIKE DURING, AND PFIZER ARE WORKING TOWARDS A WILD TYPE SLASH BA FIVE, UH, UH, UH, VACCINE.
AND IT'S, HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE HERE EARLY IN THE SCHOOL YEAR, LATE SEPTEMBER, MAYBE EARLY OCTOBER.
SO THAT'S GREAT NEWS, BCGA TB VACCINE USED TO PROTECT PEOPLE, BUT TYPE ONE FROM COVID PROJECTION FOR EXPANDED USE.
YEAH, SO, SO THIS IS PRETTY INTERESTING.
UH, RESEARCHERS AT MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL PUBLISHED A NEW STUDY DEMONSTRATING THAT THREE DOSES OF BCG VACCINE PROTECTED, UH, PATIENTS WHO WERE TYPE ONE DIABETIC.
SO, SO I WANNA BE CLEAR THAT THIS WAS A VERY SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE, VERY SPECIFIC GROUP OF PEOPLE, UM, BUT THEY DID SHOW AN OVERALL VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS OF 92%.
UM, SO WE'RE HOPING THAT THAT LARGER STUDIES WILL BE DONE AS OBVIOUSLY, UM, IN ORDER TO SAY THAT THIS WOULD BE EFFIC EFFICACIOUS FOR THE COMMUNITY, WE WOULD NEED TO ENGAGE A LOT OF DIFFERENT GROUPS, NOT JUST THE TYPE ONE DIABETICS.
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WHAT HA HAVE WE DONE RIGHT OR WRONG AND SHOULD CONSIDER NOWUM, AND WE COULD SPEND A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT, SO FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA POINT OUT, YOU KNOW, UM, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THINGS RIGHT, OKAY.
UM, THAT DOESN'T GET THE ATTENTION.
WHAT GETS THE ATTENTIONS OF THINGS THAT, THAT WERE DONE WRONG.
AND RIGHT NOW, BASED ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT COMING OUT OF THE CDC YESTERDAY, WHERE DIRECTOR WILENSKY WANTS TO, UH, TAKE A LOOK AT THE STRUCTURE AND, UH, OPERATION OF THE CDC, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THIS, THIS IS THE QUESTIONS SORT OF COMING UP.
UM, I, I, YOU KNOW, I, I I, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO LEARN THAT ONE OF THE THINGS WE COULD HAVE DONE BETTER IS, IS AT A NATIONAL LEVEL, OUR, OUR PUBLIC MESSAGING.
I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT THAT WE DIDN'T GET A LOT OF HELP FROM SOME OF OUR POLITICIANS WHO QUICKLY POLITICIZED THIS AND FILLED THE, UH, THE CONVERSATION WITH A LOT OF MISINFORMATION AND THEN, UM, DIRECTED FOLKS, UM, EMOTIONALLY, I THINK IN, IN A NOT HELPFUL WAY.
NEVERTHELESS, WE COULD HAVE DONE BETTER WITH THE MESSAGING.
PART OF IT IS WE NEED TO KEEP IT CLEAR AND STRAIGHTFORWARD, LESS COMPLICATED, AND HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, UH, WE'VE LEARNED FROM THAT.
AND NOW WE'RE GONNA BE DEALING WITH MONKEYPOX AND HOPEFULLY, UH, WE WILL HAVE MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD, UH, COMMUNICATION OR MESSAGING WITH MONKEYPOX.
I DON'T KNOW IF DR. BROWN, YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING? SURE.
SO, SO I ABSOLUTELY WOULD AGREE.
I THINK, I THINK THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS DONE, RIGHT? UM, GIVEN THE FACT THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE NOT SEEN, UM, IN MOST OF OUR LIFETIMES, UM, I DO THINK THAT IT HIGHLIGHTED SOME GAPS THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS.
UM, AND, AND I THINK PART OF WHAT WE HAVE DONE AND ARE DOING RIGHT IS REALLY TAKING A DEEP DIVE, STEPPING BACK, AND TAKING A DEEP DIVE AT THOSE GAPS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PREPARED FOR THE NEXT TIME.
UM, UM, UNFORTUNATELY, UM, THERE WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED AMOUNT OF ILLNESS AND DEATH, UM, UM, WITH THIS PANDEMIC.
UM, AND SO, SO CLEARLY THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT FOR US TO WORK ON, BUT I, I THINK THE, THE PIECES THAT THOSE, THOSE WHO'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN, IN REALLY TRYING TO, TO MITIGATE A LOT OF THAT, UM, I DON'T THINK THEY COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB.
I MEAN, THERE WERE SO MANY WHO STEPPED UP, UM, TO WANT TO HELP, TO TRY TO HELP.
UM, AND I, AND I THINK THAT THAT SHOULD NOT BE LOST, UM, AMONGST SOMETHING THAT WE'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
UM, BUT, BUT I, I DO THINK THAT, THAT WE NEED TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, UM, ACKNOWLEDGING THOSE WHO, WHO REALLY HAVE DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB ON THE FRONT LINES.
AND IT'S NOT OVER, IT'S NOT OVER
I WANNA THANK YOU FOR JOINING US WITH COVID-19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES, UH, REPRESENTING THE COUNTY, DR.
ERICA BROWN, THE CITY DR. DAVID PURSE.
SPECIAL THANKS TO PAST PRESIDENT KATHY FINNER ROTOR CLUB OF HOUSTON, WHO ACTUALLY COLLECTS THESE QUESTIONS FOR US AND OUR PRODUCER, DAVID CASTILLO.
I'M STEVEN WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.