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WELCOME TO COVID TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
ERICA BROWN, UH, WITH HARRIS COUNTY, DR. DAVID PURSE WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SPECIAL THANKS TO KATHY FINNER, PAST PRESIDENT ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, AND TO PRISCILLA KEY AND DAVID CASTILLO.
OUR PRODUCERS UPDATE ON CURRENT CITY COUNTY STATUS.
UM, SO WE ARE SEEING THE, THE POSITIVITY RATES OF THE COVID, UH, INFECTION GOING DOWN.
UM, WOULD CAUTION THOUGH THAT, UM, WE, WE DON'T RECEIVE ALL OF THE POSITIVITY RATES BECAUSE OF, UH, UM, THE AVAILABILITY OF HOME TESTING, BUT WE ARE GLAD TO SEE THE RATES, UH, IN HOSPITALIZATION RATES, UH, UH, GOING DOWN.
UM, WE ARE TRANSITIONING TO, UM, THE CDC METRICS, UM, UM, WHICH STILL WILL PUT US IN THE YELLOW CATEGORY OF, UH, MODERATE RISK.
WE'RE NOT QUITE TO GREEN YET, SO WE STILL SHOULD CONTINUE TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS, PRECAUTIONS, WASTEWATER.
ARE YOU MORE FOCUSED ON WASTEWATER NUMBERS THAN POSITIVITY RATE? I WOULDN'T SAY THAT WE ARE.
WE, YOU KNOW, WE USE WASTEWATER.
UH, WE USE POSITIVITY RATES AND WE USE HOSPITALIZATIONS AS THE THREE BIG METRICS TO SORT OF TRACK WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE PANDEMIC LOCALLY.
SO OUR WASTEWATER, UH, SHOULD MENTION, HAS RECENTLY GONE UP FOR COVID.
UH, PERHAPS WE DON'T KNOW, BUT PERHAPS THAT'S A FUNCTION OF, UH, SCHOOL STARTING AGAIN.
'CAUSE WE KNOW WHEN SCHOOLS START, VIRAL ILLNESSES START SPREADING THROUGH THE COMMUNITY, BUT IT'S EARLY, BUT WE'LL HAVE TO SEE NOW.
POSITIVITY RATE CONTINUES TO GO DOWN AND HOSPITALIZATIONS CONTINUE TO COME DOWN.
UM, SO, UM, WE'RE JUST WATCHING THE TRENDS AND SEEING WHICH DIRECTION THINGS ARE MOVING.
ANY NEWS REGARDING FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REINSTATEMENT OF FREE AT HOME TESTS? UNFORTUNATELY, THEY, THEY DO NOT APPEAR TO BE COMING BACK.
SEPTEMBER 2ND WAS THE, THE LAST DAY, UH, TO ORDER.
UM, AND UNLESS THERE'S GOING TO BE AN ADDITIONAL, UH, BUDGET AT FEDERAL BUDGET ALLOCATION, WE WON'T BE SEEING THAT PROGRAM AGAIN.
BUT THEY ARE READILY AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITY.
MY DAUGHTER WAS JUST BILLED HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS FOR A TEST BECAUSE THE SAMPLE LEFT OUT OF HER COVERAGE AREA WITHOUT HER PERMISSION.
HAVE YOU HEARD OF THIS HAPPENING? AND IS THERE ANY CONTROL OVER WHAT CAN BE CHARGED AS REASONABLE CHARGES? SO, YES, WE HAVE HEARD OF THIS, UH, NOT ONLY FOR, UH, TESTS AND, AND WITH THE TESTS WE HEARD OF GOING WAY BACK TO THE VERY BEGINNING WHEN TESTS VERY FIRST BECAME AVAILABLE, UH, WHERE PEOPLE WERE GETTING CHARGED, UH, EXORBITANT AMOUNTS, UH, FOR AND IN, AND SOMETIMES WE WERE HEARING ABOUT IT WITH VACCINE TOO.
NOW THE VACCINE IS FREE, BUT PEOPLE ARE GETTING CHARGED FOR AN OFFICE VISIT.
AND AN OFFICE VISIT CAN BE QUITE EXPENSIVE IF YOU'RE NOT INSURED OR IF YOUR INSURANCE WON'T COVER IT.
NOW, IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT, UH, THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER QUESTION, AND YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT UP TO YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY AND, UM, WHICHEVER APPROPRIATE OFFICE THERE IS AT THE STATE.
BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S ALREADY BEEN PURSUED.
SO I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE STATUS IS ON THAT.
UM, BUT WE HAVE, WE ABSOLUTELY HAVEN'T HEARD OF IT.
THIS IS WHY WE RECOMMENDED PEOPLE USE THE PUBLIC TESTING SITES AND ALSO THE PUBLIC VACCINATION SITES.
'CAUSE THEY'RE, EVERYTHING IS FREE IF YOU GO THAT WAY.
IF I'VE RECEIVED TWO OR THREE SHOTS, SHOULD I GO DIRECTLY TO THE OMICRON BOOSTER? YES.
IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED YOUR PRIMARY SERIES, YOU SHOULD GO DIRECTLY TO THE OMICRON BOOSTER.
IS IT BETTER TO STAY WITH ONE BRAND? SO IF YOU ARE, IF YOU GOT YOUR PRIMARY SERIES, YOU KNOW, YOUR PRIMARY SERIES NEEDS TO BE THE SAME BRAND, UH, PFIZER, MODERNA, OR NOVAVAX.
UH, BEYOND THAT, WHEN YOU GO TO YOUR BOOSTERS, IT IS, THERE IS SOME EVIDENCE THAT SWITCHING OVER TO, UM, A DIFFERENT, UM, UH, MRNA, UH, THEN YOUR PRIMARY SERIES, UH, OFFERS A LITTLE BIT MORE BENEFIT.
SO IF YOU GOT PFIZER, YOUR FIRST, YOU CAN GO TO, UH, MODERNA FOR YOUR, UH, ONE OF THE TWO BOOSTERS.
AND OF COURSE, IF YOU HAD NOVAVAX, THERE IS NO BOOSTER OR NOVAVAX, YOU WOULD NEED TO THEN GO TO EITHER PFIZER OR MODERNA FOR YOUR BOOSTER.
CAN I GET THE BOOSTER AND THE FLU SHOT, FLU VACCINE AT THE SAME TIME IN THE SAME ARM? SO YES, YOU CAN GET THEM AT THE SAME TIME.
UM, WE REALLY DON'T NECESSARILY RECOMMEND GETTING THEM IN THE SAME ARM JUST BECAUSE OF THE SITE REACTION THAT COULD OCCUR, UM, WITH, WITH ANY ONE VACCINE.
UM, BUT, BUT YOU DEFINITELY CAN GET THEM AT THE SAME TIME.
AND HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR A FLU SHOT TO BECOME FULLY EFFECTIVE? UH, TWO.
SO JUST LIKE ANY OTHER, UH, WELL, I'LL SAY MOST VACCINES, UM, AN IMMUNE RESPONSE USUALLY TAKES ABOUT TWO WEEKS.
IT'S THE SAME TRUE FOR THE OMICRON BOOSTER? YES.
IF, IF I HAVE RECEIVED NO COVID VACCINE, CAN I JUST OPT FOR THE NEW BOOSTER? NO,
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I'LL, I'LL TAKE THIS ONE.SO, UM, SO NO, THE, THE, THE NEW BOOSTERS THAT BIVALENT ARE NOT AUTHORIZED FOR PRIMARY SERIES.
THEY'RE, UH, REALLY ONLY FOR BOOSTERS.
AND THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE, UM, IF YOU'RE GONNA START GETTING VACCINATED NOW, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO, YOU MAY FIND IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT TO GET THE, UH, THE ORIGINAL MONOVALENT, OUR PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICES, UM, HAVE THEM.
BUT I'LL TELL YOU, FOR EXAMPLE, IN MY COMMUNITY, MY NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE I GO TO MY PHARMACY, I ASK OUR PHARMACIST, AND THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONOVALENT ANYMORE.
SO, UM, IT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT, BUT OUR, OUR PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, YOU KNOW, CALL ONE OF OUR OFFICES AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET YOU, UH, THE MONOGRAM FOR YOUR PRIMARY SERIES.
OR YOU COULD USE THE NOVAVAX IF YOU WANTED IT AS WELL.
RECENT REPORTS SHOW MONKEYPOX DIMINISHING RAPIDLY.
ARE YOU STILL RECOMMENDING VACCINATIONS OUT OF AS A PRECAUTION? I THINK YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO IN A LITTLE BIT DETAIL ABOUT THAT.
SO, UM, LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO, UH, SHOULD RECEIVE THE MONKEYPOX VACCINE.
UM, SO THE MONKEYPOX VACCINE IS, IS, UH, NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE GENERAL POPULATION.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PRECAUTION, WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS WHO ARE AT HIGH RISK FOR INFECTION.
UM, THOSE INCLUDE ANYBODY WHO'S OBVIOUSLY BEEN IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH SOMEBODY WHO IS KNOWN TO HAVE MONKEYPOX BECAUSE IT IS SPREAD THROUGH DIRECT CONTACT AND VERY CLOSE RESPIRATORY DROPLET.
THAT'S WHY WE TALK ABOUT, UM, UM, HUGGING AND KISSING FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME, UM, AS, AS MODES OF TRANSMISSION AS WELL.
UM, IT'S ALSO RECOMMENDED, AGAIN FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
SO, UM, UM, AS OF, AND MATTER OF FACT TODAY, UM, I THINK BOTH HOUSTON AND, UM, HARRIS COUNTY ARE, ARE MOVING TO EXPAND CRITERIA TO ANYONE WHO'S HAD ANONYMOUS SEX OR MULTIPLE SEX PARTNERS, UM, REGARDLESS OF THEIR, UM, SEXUAL IDENTITY, UH, OR THEIR GENDER IDENTITY.
UM, BECAUSE AGAIN, IT IS SPREAD THROUGH DIRECT CONTACT.
WE DO KNOW THAT, THAT THE MAJORITY OF, UM, THE, THE, UH, INFECTIONS THAT WE ARE SEEING ARE THROUGH DIRECT CONTACT, UM, AND, AND MORE OFTEN THAN NOT THROUGH SEXUAL ACTIVITY.
SO THAT BEING SAID, UM, THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE VACCINATED.
IT ALSO INCLUDES ANYBODY WHO'S A SEX WORKER, UM, OR WORKS IN VENUES WHERE, UM, ANONYMOUS SEXUAL ACTS OCCUR.
UM, THOSE WHO, UH, HAVE HAD GONORRHEA, CHLAMYDIA OR SYPHILIS WITHIN THE LAST 12 MONTHS.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, SOME IMMUNOCOMPROMISED VULNERABLE POPULATIONS SUCH AS OUR HIV POPULATION, UM, UM, AND THOSE WHO, UH, HAVE ECZEMA AND DERMATITIS TYPE CONDITIONS AS WELL.
UM, UM, SO THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO, WHO SHOULD BE, UH, GETTING VACCINATED AGAINST MONKEYPOX.
AGAIN, IT'S NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC, BUT RATHER FOR THOSE WHO ARE AT HIGH RISK AND, UM, HAVE SOME, UH, IMMUNO COMPROMISING CONDITIONS AND OR ARE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
I WOULD SAY THOUGH THAT THE NUMBER ONE THING, UM, THAT, THAT WE CAN DO AS A COMMUNITY IS TO, UM, MONITOR, UM, UM, OUR PERSONAL BEHAVIORS IN THE INTERIM, UNTIL YOU ARE ABLE TO GET VACCINATED, IF YOU ARE ENGAGING IN HIGH RISK ACTIVITY, UM, WE ARE SEEING THAT, UM, THE NUMBERS ARE GOING DOWN AND FRANKLY, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT TO THE SECOND DOSE FOR MOST OF THE POPULATION YET, UM, THE, THE, THE REASON THAT THE NUMBERS ARE GOING DOWN IS VERY LIKELY BECAUSE BEHAVIORS ARE CHANGING.
AND SO WE, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, UM, FROM THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE NOT RECEIVED THEIR FULL VACCINE SERIES YET.
SO THEY'RE NOT FULLY VACCINATED.
WHO SHOULD RECEIVE A NOVAVAX VACCINE? IT'S APPROVED FOR 12 AND ABOVE, BUT MUST BOOSTERS BE PFIZER.
SO, UM, ANYONE, UH, 12 OR ABOVE CAN USE A NOVAVAX FOR THEIR PRIMARY SERIES.
UH, NOW FOR THOSE THAT ARE AGES 12 TO 17, THE MODERNA, UH, BOOSTER'S NOT APPROVED FOR THAT.
SO THAT WOULD NEED TO BE A PFIZER BOOSTER.
BUT, UH, ANYONE 18 OR ABOVE CAN GET A MODERNA, UM, UM, BOOSTER ON SEPTEMBER THE SIXTH.
FAUCI SAID, IT LOOKS LIKE WE ARE FACING ANNUAL VACCINES LIKE FLORIDA FLU, BUT THOSE IN VULNERABLE GROUPS MAY CONTINUE TO NEED MORE FREQUENT VACCINATIONS.
ANY THAT IDEA OF WHAT MORE FREQUENT MIGHT MEAN OF WHAT MORE FREQUENT MIGHT MEAN, WHAT IT, BUT, BUT IN GENERAL, WE ARE, UM, UM, EXPECTING TO SEE, UM, UM, THAT THIS BECOMES AT LEAST AN ANNUAL, UH, VACCINE IN THE SERIES OF VACCINES THAT PEOPLE ARE RECOMMENDED TO GET.
SIMILAR TO FLU, OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE APPROVED, UH, AL UH, VACCINE.
IT APPEARS THE INGREDIENTS ARE THE SAME AS THOSE CONTAINED IN A REGULAR VACCINE.
WHY IS A CLINICAL TRIAL NECESSARY IF THIS IS SIMPLY A DELIVERY, UH, MECHANISM CHANGE? WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO HAVE THIS IN PHARMACIES? DO YOU FEEL THIS MECHANISM WOULD BE MORE EFFECTIVE? SO, YOU KNOW, IRONICALLY, JUST YESTERDAY, UTMB PRODUCED ANOTHER PAPER LOOKING AT, UH, THE NASAL
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SPRAY VACCINE.AND IT, IT NEEDS TO BE STUDIED BECAUSE WHILE IT'S JUST A, YOU KNOW, JUST A DIFFERENT, UH, DELIVERY MECHANISM, IT WORKS ENTIRELY, UH, DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE IT, IT, UH, WILL PROVIDE PROTECTION TO THE NASAL MUCOSA.
UH, AND THEY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S GONNA BE EFFECTIVE, RIGHT? BECAUSE WHEN YOU GET THE INJECTION, IT ACTUALLY GOES, YOU KNOW, INTO THE MUSCLE, INTO THE BLOODSTREAM.
THIS IS GONNA GO, UH, SPRAY UP THE NOSE.
SO THEY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S GOING TO PROVIDE, UH, PROTECTION AND THE EARLY RESULTS.
AND THERE WAS ANOTHER, UH, PAPER, I BELIEVE IT WAS PUBLISHED IN LANCET EARLIER, LOOKING AT THE SAME DELIVERY MECHANISM.
THEY'RE, THEY BOTH LOOK VERY PROMISING.
UM, SO I WOULD EXPECT THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE WE MAY SEE THIS, UH, BECOMING AVAILABLE, UH, YOU KNOW, GENERALLY IN RETROSPECT, WHICH VACCINES HAVE HAD THE MOST SUCCESS IN PREVENTING SERIOUS ILLNESSES.
SO I, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S REALLY HARD TO TO TEASE THAT OUT.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, THE DATA ABOUT, UM, VACCINATION IN GENERAL, UM, IT HAS A, A, AN OBVIOUS AND CLEAR BENEFIT, UM, TO PREVENTING IN AGAINST PREVENTING SEVERE ILLNESS AND DEATH.
UM, THERE HAS BEEN INFORMATION, UM, ABOUT, AND SOME NEW RECOMME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR JOHNSON AND JOHNSON, PARTICULARLY AS A PRIMARY SERIES, UM, AND IS NOT RECOMMENDED AS A PRIMARY SERIES ANY LONGER.
AND IN FACT, MODERNA OR AND OR PFIZER ARE RECOMMENDED TO BOOST THE, THE JOHNSON AND JOHNSON VACCINE.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, EITHER ONE WORKS VERY WELL AND THE NOVAVAX VACCINE AS WELL.
IF YOU, UM, HAVE CONCERN ABOUT AN MRNA VACCINE, ANY UPDATES ON THE BA FOUR SUB VARIANT? UH, BA 4.6 IS THE NEW ONE IN TOWN.
IT, UM, IT SEEMS TO SPREAD A LITTLE BIT, A LITTLE BIT FASTER THAN BA FIVE.
AND SO IF WE RUN THE RISK THAT IT MIGHT, YOU KNOW, BECOME THE DOMINANT, IT DOESN'T APPEAR THAT IT'S, THAT'S REALLY HAPPENING.
UH, BUT IT IS GETTING A FOOTHOLD.
SO WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE.
FORTUNATELY, IT DOESN'T SEEM TO MAKE PEOPLE ANY MORE ILL THAN THE OTHER VARIANTS.
THE INFECTION PERIOD IS VERY CONFUSING.
I'VE BEEN TOLD TO RETURN TO WORK AFTER FIVE DAYS, BUT HERE I COULD BE CONTAGIOUS UP TO SEVEN DAYS WHILE ANTIGEN TEST POSITIVE.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT GUIDANCE AS THIS SEEMS TO BE A MOVING TARGET? YEAH, SO, SO THE DATA THAT WE HAVE NOW AND, AND WE HAVE A, A FAIRLY ROBUST SET OF DATA, UH, AROUND THE INFECTION PERIODS IS, IS TO ISOLATE FOR FIVE DAYS.
UM, CERTAINLY WE'VE KNOWN FOR QUITE SOME TIME THAT THE PCR TEST, UM, WHICH IS THE TEST THAT THAT IS, UM, NOT NECESSARILY GONNA COME BACK RIGHT THEN WHILE YOU'RE IN THE OFFICE OR WHILE YOU'RE HOME TESTING.
THE PCR TEST CAN COME BACK POSITIVE FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
UM, AND THAT IS BECAUSE THE, THE PCR TEST IS VERY, VERY SENSITIVE, UH, TO THE VIRUS AND CAN STILL DETECT IT.
ALTHOUGH THE VIRUS ITSELF IS, I I'LL SAY, IS NOT WHOLE ENOUGH TO BE INFECTIOUS ANY LONGER.
SO I KNOW IT'S CONFUSING, BUT THE RULES NOW ARE TO ISOLATE FOR FIVE DAYS AT A MINIMUM.
IF YOU STILL ARE STILL SYMPTOMATIC, THAT'S THE KEY.
IF YOU'RE SYMPTOMATIC, THEN ISOLATE LONGER.
UM, SYMPTOMATIC MEANS YOU HAVE A FEVER, UM, YOU HAVE, UM, SEVERE COLD SYMPTOMS. UM, BUT IF YOU ARE NOTICING THAT YOU ARE GETTING BETTER AFTER THOSE FIVE DAYS, YOU MAY JUST STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A LINGERING COUGH, UM, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF A RUNNY NOSE, UM, YOU CAN, UH, UH, GO AHEAD AND, AND END YOUR ISOLATION PERIOD.
BUT THE KEY IS TO CONTINUE TO WEAR A MASK THAT IS THE KEY, UM, AFTER THE ISOLATION PERIOD IS TO CONTINUE TO WEAR A MASK, UM, FOR A MINIMUM OF 10 DAYS.
UH, SPEAKING OF MASKS FOR HOLIDAY AIR TRAVEL, IF I AM FULLY VACCINATED WITH THE LATEST BOOSTER, IS THERE ANY REASON TO WEAR A MASK ON THE PLANE? YEAH, SO THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A PERSONAL DECISION AT THIS POINT.
THE EVIDENCE HAS ACTUALLY BEEN SURPRISINGLY GOOD ABOUT, UH, TRAVEL ON AIRCRAFT IN, YOU KNOW, MINIMAL, UH, VIRAL SPREAD.
THERE ABSOLUTELY IS VIRAL SPREAD ON, ON ONBOARD AIRCRAFT, BUT IT'S, IT'S NOT AS, UM, NOT WHAT WE HAD INITIALLY EXPECTED.
UH, THE TRA THE SPREAD APPEARS TO OCCUR IN THE YORK TERMINAL QUITE HONESTLY.
UH, BUT ANYWAY, SO THIS IS A PERSONAL DECISION.
UM, I'LL BE TRAVELING IN THE NEXT, UH, SEVERAL WEEKS AND I'M PROBABLY GONNA WEAR A MASK.
UM, YEAH, IT'S A NUISANCE AND IT'S, BUT I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR TWO YEARS NOW, SO I'M GONNA PROBABLY KEEP DOING IT FOR A WHILE.
I TRAVELED LAST WEEKEND, SO DID I
ACTUALLY, IS PAXLOVID MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THOSE OVER 65? SO I, I'M NOT SURE THAT THE QUESTION IS, IS IT MORE EFFECTIVE IN THOSE OVER 65 RATHER THAN, SO NUMBER ONE, YES, PAXLOVID IS EFFECTIVE.
UM, THOSE ARE OVER 65 ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE SEVERELY ILL AND PAXLOVID IS RECOMMENDED FOR TREATMENT OF THOSE WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE SEVERELY ILL.
UM, SO THERE ARE TWO SEPARATE STATEMENTS, UM, THAT ARE TRUE, BUT NOT
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NECESSARILY ONE BECAUSE OF THE OTHER RELATED QUESTION.PAXLOVID IS NOW UNDERSTUDY ON WHETHER IT SHOULD BE GIVEN LONGER.
WHAT IS THE DOWNSIDE OF JUST TAKING IT LONGER? CAN A DOCTOR JUST MAKE THAT DECISION SO A DOCTOR CAN DECIDE TO USE SOMETHING THIS BE CALLED AN OFF-LABEL USE? SO THEY, THEY COULD DO IT.
I, I PERSONALLY DON'T KNOW OF ANY DOCTORS THAT ARE DOING THIS.
AND PART OF THAT IS 'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A CLEAR PICTURE OF WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU TAKE IT FOR LONGER.
UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF IT GOES TO WHEN THEY'RE DEVELOPING THE, THE MEDICATION IN THE FIRST PLACE, THEY, THEY TEST IT UNDER CERTAIN PARAMETERS AND THAT WE KNOW.
SO NOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT USING IT IN A WAY THAT IT WAS NEVER TESTED.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON.
NOW, IS IT ACCURATE TO SAY THAT BA FOUR AND FIVE COVER ALMOST A HUNDRED PERCENT OF ALL CURRENT CASES AND THE LONGER VARIANT IS AROUND THE LESS VIRENT IT BECOMES? SO YES, IT'S ACCURATE TO SAY THAT BA FOUR FIVE, UM, UH, BA FOUR AND FIVE ARE THE MAJORITY OF THE CASES, ALTHOUGH AS DR PER SAID, BA SIX IS, IS ON THE RISE AS WELL.
UM, IT IS NOT ACCURATE TO SAY THAT THE VIRUS BECOMES LESS VIRULENT.
THE, THE JOB OF A VIRUS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT IT SURVIVES AND THAT MAY MEAN MUTATION, ET CETERA.
SO THE, THE VIRULENCE OF A VIRUS DOES NOT DIMINISH AT THE LONGER IT STAYS AROUND.
THE RESEARCH TEAM AT TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY FOUND TWO ANTIBODIES THAT NEUTRALIZE ALL KNOWN STRAINS OF COVID-19, INCLUDING DELTA AND OMICRON.
THEORETICALLY, COULDN'T THIS ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR FUTURE BOOSTERS? SO THIS IS REALLY EXCITING NEWS AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON IT.
UH, THE QUESTION ABOUT THE DURATION OF THE EFFICACY OF THE VACCINE IS REALLY SEPARATE FROM ITS ABILITY TO PROTECT AGAINST A BROADER RANGE OF, OF VIRUSES.
AGAIN, I THINK MOST PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EDUCATED NOW THAT YOU INITIALLY GET A ANTIBODY RESPONSE THAT'LL ONLY LAST FOR A FEW MONTHS, BUT YOU ALSO START TRAINING YOUR T AND B CELLS FOR THAT LONG TERM MEMORY.
AND, UH, SO REALLY YOUR NEED FOR BOOSTERS HAS TO DO WITH HOW LONG OF A MEMORY AND IMMUNE MEMORY YOU DEVELOPED FROM THE VACCINE.
CDC SAID THAT THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN PEDIATRIC HOSPITALIZATION FOR THE SEVERE RESPIRATORY ILLNESS LAST MONTH.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT AND WHAT PRECAUTIONS SHOULD PARENTS KNOW? YES.
SO UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE SEEING A RISE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS, UM, FOR SEVERE ILLNESS DUE TO RHINOVIRUS AND ENTEROVIRUS.
THESE ARE COMMON, UM, PEDIATRIC INFECTIONS THAT, UM, USUALLY DON'T CAUSE A MUCH SEVERE ILLNESS.
SO SOME OF THE, THE COMMON THINGS THAT, THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING, BUT WE'RE, WE DON'T, WE, WE KIND OF LET FALL BY THE WAYSIDE SOMETIMES BECAUSE IT'S DIFFICULT TO DO WITH CHILDREN.
UM, BUT HANDWASHING IS KEY, CANNOT, CANNOT EMPHASIZE THAT ENOUGH, THAT HANDWASHING IS KEY.
CERTAINLY DISINFECTING SURFACES.
UM, UM, UM, IF YOUR CHILD IS, IS, UM, EXPERIENCING COLD SYMPTOMS, UM, CONSIDER KEEPING THEM HOME, HAVE A LOW TOLERANCE, UH, AS WELL IF THEY'RE NOT GETTING BETTER TO, TO SEEK, UH, UM, A CARE FROM A PROVIDER, UM, USING FACE MASKS AS WE ALREADY, UM, SHOULD BE DOING, UH, IS APPROPRIATE AT THIS TIME AS WELL.
AND THEN OF COURSE FOR OUR, OUR CHILDREN STAYING UP TO DATE WITH ALL OF THEIR VACCINES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM IS AS HEALTHY AS POSSIBLE.
UM, ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO MYSTERY PNEUMONIA IN ARGENTINA OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN? IS THAT CONTAINED IN ONE COUNTRY SO FAR? SO WE, THE CURRENT THEORY NOW IS THERE'S SOME EVIDENCE SUGGEST THAT WHAT'S GOING ON IN ARGENTINA IS ACTUALLY DUE TO, UH, LEGIONELLA.
AND UH, SO ONE THING WE POP FOLKS DON'T ALWAYS KNOW IS THAT LEGIONELLA IS RATHER UBIQUITOUS.
IT'S FOUND ALL AROUND THE, THE WORLD.
IT CAN, IT CAN BLOSSOM, IF YOU WILL, IN IN BUILDINGS, IN THEIR WATER SYSTEMS. AND SO WE'LL SEE IT POP UP.
IT'S, WE'VE HAD IN MANY, MANY PLACES HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, UM, AND IN FACT THE REGION GETS THE NAME LEGIONELLA IS, THERE WAS AN AMERICAN LEGION, UH, CONFERENCE IN, UH, DETROIT, I BELIEVE WHERE UH, IT WAS FIRST, UH, DETECTED.
SO, SO NO, IT'S, IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE LEGIONELLA, NO, IT'S NOT CONTAINED TO THAT COUNTRY.
LIFE EXPECTANCY HAS DE HAS DECREASED TWO YEARS IN A ROW.
ONE MORE THING TO BLAME ON COVID.
YES, UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS TRUE.
PFIZER CLAIMS IT'S VACCINE AGAINST RSV WORKS TO PREVENT LONG-TERM ILLNESS IN OLDER ADULTS.
IS THAT TRUE? SO THEY DO HAVE A VACCINE THAT, UH, DOES SEEM TO BE PRETTY EFFECTIVE IN ADULTS.
AND, UH, THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE RSVI THINK IS LARGELY CONSIDERED TO BE A PEDIATRIC ILLNESS, BUT IT DOES IMPACT, UM, ADULTS AND THE OLDER ADULTS TEND TO HAVE A REALLY ROUGH GO OF IT.
SO, UM, IF THIS WINDS UP BEING, AS IT'S, UH, BEGINNING TO LOOK, THIS COULD PROBABLY SAVE, UH, QUITE A NUMBER OF LIVES.
YOU KNOW, AS WE GET OLDER, WE, A LOT OF US WILL WIND UP DYING FROM RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES, UM, SOME VIRAL, SOME BACTERIAL
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AND SOME FROM, YOU KNOW, TOO MANY YEARS OF SMOKING OR WHATEVER.BUT, UH, ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO, TO KNOCK THAT DOWN WILL BE HELPFUL.
TALKING ABOUT AGING ATLANTIC PSYCHIATRIST PSYCHIATRY STUDY, UH, 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE SHOWS COVID INCREASES RISK OF COGNITIVE DEFICIT DEMENTIA, PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS AND EPILEPSY UP TO TWO YEARS AFTER INFECTION AND PSYCHOSIS AND DOCUMENTS THE SERIOUS OUTCOME IN KIDS.
SO, UM, A GLOBAL STUDY WAS DONE, UH, WITH 80,000, UH, OF COVID INFECTIONS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS.
UM, AND IT DID SHOW THAT THERE, UM, WERE SOME, SOME LONG-TERM DEFICITS, BUT IT'S NOT CLEAR THOUGH WHETHER THEY WERE DIRECTLY RELATED TO COVID OR UNFORTUNATELY SOMETHING THAT IS RELATED TO, UH, OTHER MEANS.
UM, SO, SO THE STUDY DID SHOW, BUT WE'RE NOT SURE WHETHER THEY'RE TRULY, TRULY RELATED OR NOT.
OKAY, I'M GONNA SKIP THAT QUESTION 'CAUSE IT'S KIND OF RELATED.
I HEARD AT GOOGLE, A GROUP OF WORKERS IS ASKING THE COMPANY TO DROP ITS VACCINE MANDATE, ARGUING THAT THEY ARE STILL BANNED FROM IN-PERSON MEETINGS WHILE COVID CASES OCCUR REGULAR IN OFFICES WITH FULLY VACCINATED EMPLOYEES.
CAN YOU GOOGLE A RESPONSE TO THEM?
I, I REALLY, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK SO.
UM, I THINK EVERYBODY HAS TO HAVE THE SAME, UH, VACCINE STATUS.
UM, OKAY, I'LL GO BACK TO THIS QUESTION.
A STUDY PUBLISHED IN LANCET LONG COVID HAS GONE FROM AN INCREASINGLY SENSATIONALIZED MORAL PANIC DRIVEN BY QUOTE, SELECTION EFFECT, QUOTE UNQUOTE, AND NOT A REPRESENTATIVE GROUP TO NOW DESERVING OF ITS OWN NIH INSTITUTE.
SO, I DON'T KNOW THAT I UNDERSTAND REALLY THE FIRST PART OF THE QUESTION, BUT THE SECOND PART ABOUT, UM, A, A SPECIAL GROUP TO LOOK AT POSTPARTUM SEQUELAE.
THERE ARE LOCALLY, ALL OF OUR POSSIBLE CHAINS HAVE GOT SPECIFIC LONG COVID CLINICS, UH, WHERE THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND THIS LONG COVID EFFECT.
WE'VE REALLY NOT SEEN THIS BEFORE IN OTHER VIRAL ILLNESSES.
UM, CLEARLY THIS HAS, YOU KNOW, OCCURRED ACROSS THE NATION AND PERHAPS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA SO THAT ALL THIS LOCAL RESEARCH THAT'S BEING DONE COULD BE COLLATED UNDER ONE ROOF WITH EXPERTS THAT REALLY HAVE EXPERTISE IN THIS TO SEE, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE CAN LEARN FROM IT 'CAUSE IT IS DIFFERENT.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US WITH COVID-19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES REPRESENTING HARRIS COUNTY, DR.
ERICA BROWN, REPRESENTING THE CITY OF HOUSTON, DR. DAVID PURSE.
SPECIAL THANKS TO KATHY FINNER, PAST PRESIDENT OF ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, WHO PROVIDES US WITH QUESTIONS PRISCILLA KEY AND DAVID CASTILLO, OUR PRODUCERS.
I'M STEVEN WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.