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GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO COVID TALK WITH CO, WITH OUR LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
ERICA BROWN, REPRESENTING HARRIS COUNTY, DR.
JANINA WHITE, REPRESENTING, UH, THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THANKS TO, UH, OUR PRODUCERS, UH, DAVID CASTILLO, PRISCILLA KEY, AND KATHY INGER, PAST PRESIDENT ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON.
I'M STEPHEN WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
A LOT OF DIVERSE QUESTIONS TODAY, SO LET'S JUST GET ON IT, OF COURSE, WATER ON SUNDAY, PRIOR TO THE WATER W WATER BOIL NOTICE I DRANK AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WATER.
HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE FOR ME TO NOTICE ANY ADVERSE REACTIONS? I'M SURE THAT PERSON DIDN'T HAVE ANY ADVERSE REACTIONS, BUT GO AHEAD.
UH, WE DID HAVE A BOIL WATER NOTICE.
IT WASN'T A DO NOT DRINK NOTICE OR DO NOT USE NOTICE.
SO JUST TO KIND OF REFERENCE THE FACT THAT YOU SHOULDN'T REALLY HAVE ANY, UM, COMPLICATIONS AS IT RELATES TO INFECTIONS.
BUT IF WE WERE LOOKING AT INFECTIONS AND SORT OF WATER, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BACTERIA, THERE'S PARASITES, AND OFTENTIMES WE THINK, YOU KNOW, IN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY, THERE'S THINGS LIKE CHOLERA, GIARDIA, E COLI.
THESE ARE, UH, UH, BUGS, BUGS THAT WE SEE IN WATER.
AND SO IT WOULD RANGE DEPENDING ON WHICH ORGANISM WE WERE REALLY THINKING ABOUT, IF THAT WERE THE ISSUE.
AND SOME CAN BE AS QUICKLY AS A COUPLE OF HOURS WE CALL EXPLOSIVE, KIND OF DIARRHEAL COMPLAINTS.
AND SOME COULD BE FOR SEVERAL WEEKS.
AND SO A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE SAY IN GENERAL, LOOK FOR SYMPTOMS IN, YOU KNOW, THREE TO FIVE DAYS IF DRINKING WATER WAS CONTAMINATED.
AND THAT WAS THE MESSAGE THAT WE WANTED THE COMMUNITY TO BE MOST AWARE OF.
YOU WOULD LOOK FOR SYMPTOMS LIKE DIARRHEA, ABDOMINAL PAIN, CRAMPING, EVEN SYMPTOMS SUCH AS NAUSEA, VOMITING, HEADACHES, UM, WORST CASES WE CALL LIKE A JAUNDICE PEOPLE.
YOUR SKIN TURNS YELLOW OR YOU SEE YELLOW YELLOWING IN YOUR EYES.
AND THOSE ARE THE THINGS BE SYMPTOMS TO WATCH FOR.
BUT IN THE MINDFULNESS OF THIS ALSO, IS THAT IF YOU HAD THOSE TYPE OF SYMPTOMS, YOU REALLY WANNA SEE A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER, BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T JUST NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE A WATERBORNE INFECTION.
THAT COULD GIVE YOU SOME OF THOSE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, OVERARCHING SYMPTOMS, NAUSEA AND VOMITING, ABDOMINAL PAIN.
IF YOU'VE ALREADY SORT OF SWALLOWED THE WATER THAT CAME OUT OF THE SHOWER, YOU BRUSHED YOUR TEETH GIVEN OUR BOIL NOTICE, REALLY, THERE SHOULD BE MINIMAL EFFECTS.
BUT, UM, IF YOU'RE, IF YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE, UH, AN INFANT, UM, IF YOU HAVE MEDICAL COMPLICATIONS, YOU IMMUNOCOMPROMISED IF YOU'RE A YOUNG CHILD OR ELDERLY PERSON, THOSE WOULD BE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS TO WATCH FOR.
AND AGAIN, THAT WOULD BE ABDOMINAL PAIN, NAUSEA, VOMITING, DIARRHEA, UM, HEADACHE, MAYBE EVEN THAT YELLOWING.
THIS WASN'T A DO NOT DRINK, AND THIS WASN'T A DO NOT USE ORDER.
BUT LET'S BE CLEAR THAT THEY ACTUALLY, THE, THE PUBLIC WORKS ACTUALLY FOLLOWED THEIR, THEIR PROTOCOL AND PROCESS.
UH, THEY PUT THAT NOTICE OUT, OUT OF, UH, OUT OF ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION.
UH, THE ALLCLEAR ALERT NEVER SAID IF THE WATER WAS CONTAMINATED AT ALL OR THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THROW OUT ICE, ET CETERA, OF ANY VALUE.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE RECOMMENDING THAT OUT OF ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION, UH, THEY DID NOT SAY THAT THE WATER WAS CONTAMINATED AT ALL, BUT BECAUSE THAT SYSTEM WENT DOWN FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS, THEY, UH, FOLLOWED THEIR PROTOCOL AND PUT OUT THAT, THAT, THAT, NOTICE HOW MANY PEOPLE GOT SICK FROM THE WATER ISSUE THAT STARTED ON SUNDAY.
THERE WERE MANY QUESTIONS ON THIS EVENT.
WE DIDN'T GET ANY COMPLAINTS, DID Y'ALL? WE DID NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE.
WE, WE DON'T HAVE, UH, UH, ANY COMPLAINTS.
BUT OF COURSE, WE'RE CONTINUING TO MONITOR MM-HMM
AND I'LL SAY ALSO FOR THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE A SURVEILLANCE TEAM.
OUR EPIDEMIOLOGIST, YOU KNOW, OUR UNSUNG HEROES, THEY WILL CONTINUOUS, CONTINUOUSLY MONITOR, THEY CALL IT SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE.
AND SO THEY'LL BE MONITORING ANY, UM, CONCERNS IF THEY SEE GI SYMPTOMS OR COMPLAINTS IN OUR, UH, HOSPITAL SETTINGS.
AND THAT WILL TRIGGER US TO ALSO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INFORMING IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO THE COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THIS, UH, RECENT, UH, NOTICE.
AND JUST TO ADD TO THAT, OUR, OUR ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTORS WERE IN CONTACT WITH, UH, ALL OF THE, UH, RESTAURANTS, UH, WHATEVER, UH, GIVING THEM ADVICE ON WHAT, WHAT PROCESS AND PROCEDURES TO FALL TO, TO FOLLOW CURRENT STATUS.
HOW WOULD WE KNOW THAT WE ARE IN ANOTHER WAVE? WHAT'S THE POSSIBILITY OF A SURGE? COVID SURGE? SO,
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RATES, UM, GO UP.BUT, UM, PART OF THE ISSUE WITH MONITORING THAT IS THAT THERE'S THEIR HOME TESTS AVAILABLE FOR COVID NOW.
SO PREVIOUSLY WE HAD THE ABILITY, UM, TO SEE ALL TESTING BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY TO BE TESTED WAS IN A PROVIDER'S OFFICE WITH HOME TESTS.
THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE.
SO FORTUNATELY, HOUSTON DOES A GREAT JOB WITH THE WEIGHT WA WASTEWATER TESTING.
SO AS WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR, IF WE SEE THOSE NUMBERS SPIKE UP, UM, THAT MAY BE AN INDICATION THAT A WAVE IS COMING.
WE ARE SEEING THE POSITIVITY RATES AND THE NUMBERS IN THE WASTEWATER GO UP SLIGHTLY, BUT WE STILL ARE IN A LOW RISK, UM, UM, C CLIMATE FOR NOW.
THE OTHER THINGS IS WE WATCH HOSPITALIZATIONS AND ICU, UH, UH, BED ADMISSIONS.
NOW, THESE ARE, UM, UM, RETROSPECTIVE, UH, UH, MEASURES, BUT THAT IS ONE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN TELL WHETHER WE ARE EXPERIENCING, UM, A SPIKE OR A, A WAVE.
UM, UM, WHAT ARE THE POSSIBILITIES OF A SURGE? UM, SO THERE'S ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY OF A SURGE BECAUSE, UM, THE, THE VIRUS CONTINUES TO MUTATE.
UM, FORTUNATELY, THE MUTATIONS THAT WE'RE SEEING NOW ARE WHAT I WOULD CALL COUSINS OF WHAT WE, UM, HAVE PREVIOUSLY HAD.
AND THE, THE BA FOUR OR FIVE VACCINE, THE BOOSTER THAT WE HAVE, UM, UM, HAS PROVEN TO BE EFFICACIOUS.
UM, AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE BEST WAYS THAT WE CAN, UM, COMBAT, UM, SEEING A SURGE IS TO GO AHEAD AND IF YOU'RE NOT VACCINATED, ABSOLUTELY GET VACCINATED.
UM, IF YOU HAVE, IF YOU'VE BEEN VACCINATED AND HAVEN'T HAD YOUR BOOSTER TO GET YOUR BOOSTERS, UM, THERE IS ENOUGH DATA OUT NOW THAT DOES SHOW, UM, THAT THESE VACCINES DO HELP TO PREVENT SERIOUS ILLNESS AND DEATH.
YOU ANSWERED THE NEXT COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UH, AND, AND WE CAN, WE CAN SEE THAT NOW IT'S GONE UP FROM ONE 34% TO ONE 90, UH, 6%.
ALSO, POSITIVITY RATES, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL THROW THIS ONE AT YOU.
NEW CASES IS SLIGHTLY UP IN HARRIS COUNTY.
ANY UPTICK DUE TO PARADES, ATHLETIC EVENTS OR WHATEVER.
UH, SO AGAIN, UH, TO THE POINT ABOUT THE POSITIVITY, WE, YOU KNOW, SEE THE WASTEWATER SLIGHTLY INCREASING POSITIVITY, SLIGHTLY INCREASING.
SO I KNOW THAT INDIVIDUALS DUE TO THESE SORT OF, UH, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, YOU KNOW, ARE BEING MINDFUL OF THEIR PREVENTIVE MEASURES, MASKING AND VACCINATING, LIKE DR. BROWN MENTIONED.
SO I THINK WE'RE NOT ATTRIBUTING ANY OF THESE NUMBERS TO THESE LARGE SCALE EVENTS, BUT JUST REMINDING PEOPLE THAT DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN WHEN YOU'RE PARTICIPATING IN THESE KIND OF EVENTS.
AND IF YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS, IF YOU'VE NOT, UM, BEEN PROPERLY, YOU KNOW, HAD YOUR VACCINE SERIES, IT'S STILL IMPORTANT TO DO THOSE MITIGATION STRATEGIES.
AND JAPAN, ONE IS TOTALLY OPEN, ONE IS CLOSED.
I THINK THE LESSONS LEARNED IS THAT THERE'S NO ONE ANSWER.
UM, IT REALLY TAKES, UH, A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY, UM, TO PROTECT THE COMMUNITY FROM A PANDEMIC.
UM, THERE CERTAINLY ARE TIMES WHERE IT'S APPROPRIATE TO, UM, CLOSE.
THERE CERTAINLY ARE TIMES WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE TO BE OPEN AND TO USE ALL OF THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES, UM, TO PROTECT THE COMMUNITY WHEN WE'RE OPEN.
UM, YOU KNOW, MASKS IS, IT WAS KEY AND STILL CONTINUES TO BE KEY.
IF WE FEEL LIKE, UM, UM, WE ARE IN A, A LARGE CONGREGATE SETTING, AND THERE'S A POSSIBILITY OF SPREAD, HANDWASHING IS KEY WHEN WE'RE IN, UM, UM, PUBLIC PLACES, AND THEN AMONGST OUR FAMILY MEMBERS AS WELL, BECAUSE THE FAMILY, OUR FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS ALL GO OUT INTO THE PUBLIC.
BUT THE TAKE HOME MESSAGE IS THAT THERE'S NO ONE ANSWER.
IT REALLY IS A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY THAT DEPENDS ON, UM, THE DATA PRESENTATION THAT WE HAVE AT THE TIME.
UH, AND THEN FROM THERE, UH, DETERMINING AT THAT POINT IN TIME, WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO MOVE FORWARD? CDC SEEMS TO BE UNDER POLITICAL PRESSURE.
HOTEZ BEING STOPPED FROM RECEIVING U-A-A-U-E-U-A HERE IN THE US? AND AGAIN, SO THAT FEEDBACK WAS, I, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I'M NOT ABLE TO SAY THAT HE'S BEING STOPPED FROM EUA, I JUST KNOW THAT THE TEAM THAT DOES HIS TEAM, HE'S THE DEAN OF TOPICAL MEDICINE AND BAYLOR AND TCH, THEY'VE DONE GREAT WORK FOR GLOBAL SUPPORT OF HAVING A VACCINE THAT CAN REALLY, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS SOME OF THE GLOBAL DISPARITIES THAT WE'VE NOTICED.
AGAIN, THE VACCINE THAT THEY DEVELOPED HAS THAT SUPPORT FOR HALAL, WHICH IS IMPORTANT FOR A LOT OF COMMUNITIES.
AND WITH CDC, THEY'RE JUST LIKE, THEY'RE GOING THROUGH A PROCESS, JUST LIKE MOST HEALTH DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTRY AND, AND HAVING EXPERIENCED A PANDEMIC, UH, THERE ARE LESSONS LEARNED.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES TO,
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UH, INCREASE OUR CAPACITY, UH, TO RESPOND.THE BI VALENT BOOSTER, HOW CAN WE ANALYZE THE RESULTS? WE WITH SUCH A SMALL SAMPLE.
UM, SO, UM, WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT WHERE WE WANNA BE WITH, UM, UM, THE BOOSTER, THE BIVALENT BOOSTER ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND UNFORTUNATELY, TEXAS, UH, AND HARRIS COUNTY, INCLUDING HOUSTON, ARE LAGGING EVEN BEHIND WHERE THE COUNTRY IS.
SO WE, FRANKLY, WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB.
HAVING SAID THAT, THOUGH, UM, THE CDC WAS ABLE TO DO A STUDY OF 360,000 PATIENTS WHO, UM, DID RECEIVE THE BOOSTER TO PROVE THE EFFICACY OF THE VACCINE.
SO, UM, BECAUSE THE COUNTRY, UM, IS SO POPULOUS, EVEN THE SMALL NUMBER LAST NUMBERS THAT I SAW MAYBE A WEEK OR TWO AGO AGO, WERE 10%, UH, UPTAKE OF THE BOOSTER, EVEN OF 10% OF SUCH A POPULOUS COUNTRY, UM, IS ENOUGH TO DO, UH, AN ADEQUATE STUDY.
UBER ONLY HAS SPUTNIK VACCINE FROM CHINA.
HOW EFFECTIVE HAS THAT BEEN? AND, UH, WELL, ON THAT ONE, I AM NOT UP TO DATE ON THE NIK VACCINE, SO I APOLOGIZE.
I'D HAVE TO GET BACK TO THE PERSON WHO ASKED THAT QUESTION.
I KNOW THERE ARE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW EFFECTIVE THE, UH, THE VACCINE THAT WAS CREATED IN CHINA IS MM-HMM
SHOULD PEOPLE WHO DID NOT RECEIVE VACCINES FOR MMR AND OTHER CHILDHOOD DISEASES GET THEM NOW, ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE NEAR CHILDREN.
DO YOU WANT ME TO, I CAN TAKE THAT ONE.
DR. BROWN PEDIATRICIAN IN ME
SO, THE PEDIATRICIAN IN ME, IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE ASK IN A VISIT, WELL, LET ME GO BACK.
TRANSLATING MY PEDIATRICS TO ADULTS IN GENERAL, WHEN YOU COME FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT, IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE ON VACCINES, THE GOAL IS TO GET UP TO DATE ON ROUTINE VACCINATIONS PARAMOUNT.
SO I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE 10 OR 40, 58, WE'RE GONNA ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR VACCINE, AND THAT'S FOR ROUTINE VACCINES.
AND THEN WE ASK AGAIN, THE COVID AND OTHER, THIS IS FLU SEASON.
SO DO YOU HAVE YOUR FLU VACCINE? I THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING THAT, UH, COLUMBUS PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UM, RIGHT BEFORE THE HOLIDAY, BEFORE THANKSGIVING, THEY SAW 19 CHILDREN WHO HAD, UH, MEASLES, AND NEARLY HALF OF THOSE CHILDREN ENDED UP BEING HOSPITALIZED OVER THE HOLIDAY.
AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S TERRIBLE.
AND THEN ALMOST HALF OF THOSE KIDS WERE UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE.
SO THEY'VE NOT COMPLETED THEIR SERIES.
SO THE CDC DOES SAY, ANYONE WHO'S HAD MEASLES AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIFE, SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED TWO DOSES, SHOULD HAVE GOOD VACCINATION AND GOOD PROTECTION.
IF YOU ARE AN ADULT AND YOU'RE FROM 1963 TO 1967, YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED THE INACTIVATED MMR, AND THEN FOR THAT PURPOSE, YOU WOULD NEED TO GET AN ADDITIONAL VACCINE.
DEPENDING ON THE INFORMATION WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO YOUR PROVIDER, IT MAY BE ONE DOSE ONLY, OR IT MIGHT BE TWO.
BUT CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT MMR IS PRETTY EFFECTIVE, 93% AFTER FIRST DOSE, AND THEN 97%.
IF YOU'VE GOTTEN THE COMPLETE SERIES, WHAT IS CONVERGENCE, EVOLUTION AND VACCINE RESISTANCE? OH MY GOODNESS,
OKAY, LET ME, LET ME AGAIN SAY, I'M GONNA READ MY NOTES ON THIS.
UM, SO FIRST OF ALL, THE MAIN GOAL OF A VIRUS IS TO SPREAD AS FAR AS IT CAN.
AND SO, UM, IT'LL LOOK FOR WEAK SPOTS AND TAKE ADVANTAGE, UM, IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL.
SO FOR COVID-19, THE VIRUS IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT JUST LIKE ANY OTHER VIRUS, WHAT'S THE BEST SHAPE, UH, UM, THAT IT CAN USE, UM, TO SURVIVE.
UM, AND IT NEEDS A HOST, I, FOR, FOR INSTANCE, A HUMAN HOST TO SURVIVE.
UM, SO CHANGES IN THE VIRUS THAT MAKE THE, THE SHAPE, UM, UM, STICKIER OR, OR, UM, MORE PRONE, UM, TO STAY WITH THE HOST WILL CREATE, UH, UH, BETTER SPREADING.
AND SO THAT, AGAIN, THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF A VIRUS.
UM, AND SO WHEN YOU HAVE BILLIONS OF, OF VIRUS PARTICLES TRYING TO FIND THE BEST, UH, SHAPE, RIGHT? EVENTUALLY A SMALL NUMBER, UM, WE'LL FIND THE SAME SHAPE, UH, UM, AND DO IT INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER.
SO AT FIRST, THEY'RE ALL ACTING AS ONE GROUP TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT, AND THEN THEY FIGURE IT OUT AND THEY SAY, OKAY, I GOT IT.
I'M READY TO GO OFF ON MY OWN.
UM, AND SO, UM, UH, MUTATIONS TEND TO OCCUR AFTER THAT, THAT MAKE IT SPREAD MORE EASILY BECAUSE EVERYBODY SAYS, OKAY, WELL NOW I, I FIGURED IT OUT AND NOW I CAN TRY TO DO SOME, SOME DIFFERENT THINGS TO EXPAND MY REACH.
UM, AND SO THE SECOND THING, UM, TO CONSIDER IS THAT VACCINES ALSO TRAIN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.
OKAY? UM, AND SO, UM, THE VACCINE RESISTANCE THOUGH, UM, COMES IN WHEN YOU HAVE A WELL-TRAINED IMMUNE SYSTEM, UM, THAT IS, UM, SLOWING DOWN
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A VIRUS IS, IS IS SLOWING THAT DOWN, RIGHT? SO THE VI YOU'VE BEEN INTRODUCED, UM, TO A VIRUS, THE BODY RESPONDS TO IT.UM, AND MOST OFTENTIMES, RIGHT, WE, WE RECOVER WITH NO ISSUES.
UM, WHEN WE HAVE ISSUES, WHEN WE FEEL SICK FROM THE FLU, WHEN WE FEEL SICK FROM COVID, UM, AGAIN, MOST OFTEN WE RECOVER AND THERE'S NO ISSUE.
BUT THE BODY RECOGNIZES THAT, UM, THIS VIRUS, THEY'VE BEEN EXPOSED AND IS ABLE TO HANDLE IT.
WHEN WE START TO SEE, UM, UM, RESISTANCE IS WHEN THE VACCINES AND OR FROM EXPOSURE THROUGH, UM, UM, DIRECT, UM, INOCULATION WITH THE VIRUS, UM, WE START TO SEE THAT THE, THE BODY SAYS, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FOR ME, MEANING I WAS EX, I SAW THIS VIRUS BEFORE, BUT I'M, I'M SEEING SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT ABOUT IT, AND I'M NOT QUITE SURE HOW TO HANDLE IT.
UM, SO WE MIGHT GET, NOT GET THE, THE MOST RESPONSE THAT WE HAD PREVIOUSLY SEEN, UM, BEFORE.
UM, AND SO SINCE VACCINES, UM, SINCE BEING VACCINATED, MAKE SURE IMMUNE SYSTEM ABLE TO ACT MORE QUICKLY, THE VIRUS HAS FEWER CHANCES TO COPY.
UM, UM, WHAT HAPPENS TOO IS WITH THE BOOSTERS, UM, THAT AGAIN, IS ANOTHER INTRODUCTION TO SOME OF THE MUTATIONS TO REMIND THE BODY THAT, UM, THEY'RE SEEING THE SAME THING IN ESSENCE WITH A LITTLE BIT OF CHANGE.
BECAUSE REMEMBER, WE TALKED ABOUT WHEN THE VIRUS GETS INDEPENDENT AND SAYS, WELL, NOW I'M ABLE TO, I FIGURED THIS OUT.
I KNOW HOW TO SURVIVE IN MY HOST, SO NOW LET ME MAKE SURE THAT I'M ABLE TO STAY ALIVE.
AND IT MAY MUTATE A LITTLE BIT.
THE BODY NEEDS A REMINDER OF THAT.
UM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT THE BOOSTERS ARE HERE TO DO FOR US, UM, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BODY IS REMINDED THAT YOU'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE.
IT MAY, IT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT OF MUTATION, MAY BE A DIFFERENT FLAVOR, BUT YOU HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE, AND THE BODY WILL RESPOND ACCORDINGLY.
UM, I HOPE I WAS ABLE TO ANSWER THAT TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITIES.
THAT WAS A VERY DETAILED ANSWER.
PFIZER HAS A VACCINE BEING TESTED FOR RSV.
WHAT IS THE STATUS? SO IN AUGUST, PFIZER HAD A PRESS RELEASE STATEMENT THAT THEY WERE INTENDING TO PRESENT RESULTS OF THEIR INTERIM ANALYSIS, AND THEY'RE GONNA SUBMIT FOR A PEER REVIEW, UM, IN A SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL.
THE STUDY IS A, UH, CALLED RENOIR, IT'S PHASE THREE.
AND SO THAT'S FOR ADULTS, UH, 60 AND OLDER WHO COULD GET VACCINATED.
AND THEN PFIZER ALSO ANNOUNCED THAT THEY'RE GONNA DO A STUDY FOR GLOBAL MATERNAL IMMUNIZATION TRIAL FOR A BIVALENT RESPIRATORY VIRUS VACCINE CANDIDATE.
AND SO THAT SHOULD BE COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE AS WELL.
SO THE VACCINE KEEP YOU FROM GETTING SICK.
SO CURRENTLY THERE IS NO VACCINE, UM, UM, AS DR. WHITE, UM, JUST STATED, UM, THE HOPE IS THAT THERE'S SOMETHING COMING DOWN THE PIKE SHORTLY, UM, BUT THERE IS NO VACCINE.
SO THE BEST WAY TO PREVENT RSV IS GOOD HYGIENE, UH, AVOIDING CLOSE CONTACT WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE SICK.
UM, UM, AGAIN, WASHING HANDS, COVERING YOUR, YOUR NOSE AND YOUR MOUTH, UM, WHEN YOU'RE SNEEZING, WHEN YOU'RE COUGHING.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT, THAT, UM, CAN BE HELPFUL IS TO, UM, ISOLATE WHEN YOU'RE SICK, AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE NOT SURE, UM, WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF THE, OF THE ILLNESS, AT THE VERY LEAST, MASK UP.
ARE RSV TESTS ACCURATE? MM-HMM
BOTH, UH, THE PCR AND ANTIGEN TESTS ARE DETECTING EFFECTIVE METHODS FOR RSV INFECTIONS, AND THE ANTIGEN SENSITIVITY IS ABOUT 80 TO 90%.
SO SIMILAR TO OUR COVID TEST, UH, CAN YOU GAIN IMMUNITY TO RSV? UNFORTUNATELY, UM, RSV IS A VIRUS, WHICH, UM, AND WE JUST TALKED ABOUT DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS VIRUS, UM, DON'T AFFORD, UH, LONG-TERM IMMUNITY.
SO THEY, THEY DON'T PROVOKE THE BODY TO, TO REMEMBER FOR A LONG TIME.
SO, UM, IT'S DIFFICULT TO GAIN IMMUNITY, SORT OF LIKE A COMMON COLD.
THE BODY SEES A COLD, YOU MAY BE ONE OF THOSE WHO GETS A COLD EVERY YEAR, AND IT JUST IS WHAT IT IS IN TERMS OF THE BODY DOESN'T RECOGNIZE, UM, THAT IT HAS SEEN THAT.
LAST YEAR, NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE ARTICLE QUESTIONED THE BENEFITS OF VACCINATIONS AMONGST PREVIOUSLY INFECTED INDIVIDUALS.
WHAT IS THE TAKEAWAY? SO THAT TAKEAWAY IN THAT ARTICLE WAS JUST SUGGESTING THAT HYBRID IMMUNITY DOES ACTUALLY RESULT, UM, IN CONFERRING STRONGER PROTECTION.
SO IF YOU'VE BEEN INFECTED, BUT YOU STILL GET YOUR BOOSTER, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE STRONGER PROTECTION.
POST MEDICINE PUBLISHED A STUDY THAT VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRIMARY COVID-19 VACCINE SERIES SHOWED NATURAL IMMUNITY MORE EFFECTIVELY PROTECTS SARS COVID TWO REINFECTION THE VACCINATIONS.
IS THAT JUST ANY COMMENTS? IS THAT JUST A STATEMENT OF FACT? I THINK THAT'S A STATEMENT THAT THIS IS WHAT THE, WHAT THE, THE STUDY PUBLISHED.
APL FOUR IS THE STRONGEST GENETIC FACTOR FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE.
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SO THIS IS ANOTHER ONE, YOU KNOW, HAVE TO KIND OF DIVE INTO THE DATA A LITTLE BIT.THIS WAS, UM, FROM NIH RESEARCH MATTERS.
THEY DISCUSSED THAT CERTAIN GENES CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF DEVELOPING DEMENTIA AND DEMENTIA, INCLUDING ALZHEIMER'S.
SO THEY THOUGHT ONE OF THE RISK FACTORS THAT WAS MOST IMPORTANT WAS THE APO LIPOPROTEIN E GENE, A POE FOUR, WHICH IS WHAT THIS QUESTION IS ASKING.
AND IT MENTIONED THAT ABOUT 25% OF PEOPLE CARRY ONE COPY OF THIS, AND THAT TWO TO 3% OF PEOPLE CARRY TWO COPIES.
BUT THEY SAY THE A POE FOUR IS THE STRONGEST RISK FACTOR GENE FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE.
ALTHOUGH INHERITING IT DOESN'T MEAN A PERSON WILL DEFINITELY DEVELOP ALZHEIMER'S.
AND SO THEY'RE JUST SUGGESTING THE REASON THAT THE POE FOUR INCREASES ALZHEIMER'S RISK IS STILL NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD.
ARE THERE GENETIC CLUES FOR COVID? SO, SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS QUESTION ABOUT ALZHEIMER'S, UM, IT DOES APPEAR, UM, AGAIN, THROUGH NIH STUDIES THAT THERE ARE GENES THAT, UM, UM, WHEN PRESENT, UM, SEEM TO INDICATE A HIGHER RISK OF SEVERE INFECTION.
SPECIFICALLY THE ACE TWO GENE, UM, UM, SEEMS TO, UH, BE MORE ASSOCIATED WITH A, A HIGHER RISK OF, UM, UM, INFECTION.
UM, THERE'S ALSO GENES THAT HAVE BEEN SHOWN, UM, THAT PERHAPS PROTECT MORE AGAINST, UH, UH, COVID INFECTION, SPECIFICALLY THE IN UH, EXCUSE ME, I-F-N-A-R TWO GENE, UM, PERHAPS PRE WILL HELP TO PREVENT MORE AGAINST MORT MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY FROM COVID.
UM, BUT THIS IS ALSO STILL BEING STUDIED.
I TESTED WITH ONE OF THE ANCESTRY PROGRAMS AND THEY ASKED ABOUT COVID.
THERE SEEMS TO SHOW A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ANTHOLOGY DNA AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO COVID FOR THOSE NOT PREVIOUSLY INFECTED.
IS THAT TRUE? SO THERE IS SOME
SO IF THEY GO TO THE GENOME SEQUENCING FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH THROUGH THE NATIONAL GENOME RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THEY TALK ABOUT THE EXPLANATION FOR NEANDERTHAL GENE VARIANTS.
AND SO THAT RESEARCH TEAM DID CONCLUDE IN PRESENT DAY THAT 2% OF THE GENOME COMES FROM NEANDERTHALS, WHO THE, YOU KNOW, SO THERE'S INFORMATION OUT THERE.
BQ SUB VARIANT IS NOW DOMINANT IN THE US AND RESISTANT TO ANTIBODY TREATMENT.
IS THERE ANY ALTERNATIVE? SO, UM, THE CURRENT MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY TREATMENT THAT IS CORRECT, UM, AS NOT BEEN PROVEN TO BE EFFICACIOUS, UM, TO TREAT, UM, THE BQ SUB VARIANT.
HOWEVER, AS WE STATED BEFORE, THE BOOSTER IS EFFICACIOUS AGAINST THE BQ VARIANT.
SO THAT IS ANOTHER WAY IN WHICH YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF.
I'VE HEARD THE TERM VARIANT SOUP WITH MULTIPLE VARIANTS ALL SEEN TOGETHER LIKE A CLUSTER OF VIRUSES.
IS THAT ACCURATE DESCRIPTION, IS THAT USUAL? WELL, YOU KNOW, IT'S BECAUSE THE CURRENT CROP OF IMMUNITY DODGING OFFSHOOTS, THE ALL OMICRON VARIANT IS UNPRECEDENTED IN THIS DIVERSITY.
IT'S JUST, WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS.
SO THIS COMPLEXITY MAKES IT HARDER FOR US TO REALLY PREDICT THE COMING WAVES AND THEN WHAT TO DO NEXT.
SO SOME PEOPLE DO TALK ABOUT, THERE COULD BE THIS SENSE OF A DOUBLE WAVE BECAUSE THESE OFFSHOOTS ARE HAPPENING, AND REALLY THE MESSAGE IS THE MORE WE CAN GET PEOPLE VACCINATED, AND THE MORE WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB, LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, THAT WE REALLY HAVEN'T DONE A GOOD JOB OF GETTING PEOPLE BOOSTED.
YOU'RE LEAVING SPACE FOR THE VIRUS TO SORT OF JUST REALLY DO SO MANY VARIANTS.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA BE CHASING BEHIND HOW TO BEST MANAGE THE VARIANTS AND WHAT MEDICATIONS AND TREATMENTS ARE EFFECTIVE.
ANY INSIGHTS ON WHETHER THE FLU IS PRESENTING STRONGER THIS YEAR? I DON'T, UM, HAVE ANY INSIGHT ON WHETHER IT'S PRE PRESENTING STRONGER.
WE ARE SEEING, UM, UH, MORE CASES, UM, SO FAR, UM, BUT NOT NECESSARILY, UM, THAT IT'S, UH, IS STRONGER.
IT'S JUST THAT WE'RE SEEING MORE CASES AND JUST RECUPERATED FROM THE FLU.
SHOULD I CONSIDER GETTING THE FLU SHOT? AND IF SO, WHEN? SO HOPE YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, HOPE YOU'RE RECUPERATING AND YOUR RECUPERATION IS GOING WELL, AND, YOU KNOW, HOPE IS AS SPEEDY AS POSSIBLE.
YOU KNOW, AFTER YOU SEE YOUR PROVIDER AND YOU'VE SORT OF BEEN DEEMED CLEAR, ABSOLUTELY, YOU SHOULD STILL GET YOUR FLU VACCINE.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, THERE ARE DIFFERENT STRAINS THAT WE PUT INTO A FLU VACCINE FOR THE ANTICIPATED SEASON.
THIS IS STILL, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL IN NOVEMBER, FLU GOES UNTIL MARCH.
IF YOU'VE GOT FLU B AND FLU A SORT OF TICKS UP LATER IN THE SEASON, YOU MAY NOT HAVE ADEQUATE PROTECTION FROM JUST BEING SICK ALONE.
SO YES, YOU SHOULD GET THE FLU VACCINE WHEN YOUR DOCTOR CLEARS YOU TO GET THE, THE VACCINATION.
SO IF YOU GET THE FLU SHOT, CAN YOU GET REINFECTED IF YOU GET IT TOO SOON? SO, YEAH.
YEAH, KIND OF THE THE, THE, THE OPPOSITE TOO, IF YOU GET IT TOO SOON, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE SEE A PEOPLE'S
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OLDER, THE AGE OF 60, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO GET HIGH, THOSE FLU IF YOU GET THE FLU SHOT TOO EARLY, SOME PEOPLE WANNA GET IT LIKE IN JULY AND AUGUST, BUT DEPENDING ON YOUR HEALTH RISK FACTORS, YOU LEAVE YOURSELF POTENTIALLY NOT PROTECTED, MAYBE LATE INTO THE SEASON.AND AGAIN, WE'RE STILL LEARNING.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE SAID ON THESE PRESENTATIONS IS, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE KNOW NOW, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE SEEING THE SYSTEM, THE FLU SEASON KICK UP NOW IN NOVEMBER.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE IN MARCH, APRIL, MAY, RIGHT? AND SO TOO SOON, UM, IT'S NOT A GOOD THING.
HOWEVER, FOR SOME INDIVIDUALS, LIKE CHILDREN WHO HAVE TO GET TWO DOSES, LIKE IF YOU'VE NOT HAD YOUR FLU SHOT AND FOR CHILDREN, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GET A TWO DOSE VACCINE.
SO THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT WANNA THINK ABOUT GETTING THE FIRST DOSE NOW BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA NEED THAT SECOND DOSE IN ABOUT A MONTH.
SO FOR SOME INDIVIDUALS, IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO, TO, TO GO AHEAD AND GET THAT VACCINE.
I'M CONCERNED ABOUT BRINGING MY CHILD TO THE DOCTOR FOR A CHECKUP.
SO WITH SO MANY VIRUSES CIRCULATING IN THEIR OFFICES, IT'S TELEMEDICINE AS EFFECTIVE AS IN PERSON.
SO TELEMEDICINE IS REALLY AN EXCELLENT OPTION FOR, UM, CERTAIN THINGS IF YOU HAVE A COMMON COLD, UM, UM, THINGS THAT, THAT, UM, REALLY WE JUST NEED TO CHECK IN AND MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE, UM, NO OTHER, UM, SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS, SYMPTOMS THAT YOU DO NEED TO, TO COME IN.
HOWEVER, WHAT WE, UH, ARE EXPERIENCING, UM, AND HAVE LEARNED SINCE, UM, THE COVID PANDEMIC IS UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE REALLY BEHIND IN OUR PREVENTIVE MEDICINE AND REALLY BEHIND IN, UM, UM, OUR VACCINATION SERIES FOR OUR CHILDREN, WHICH WE'VE DISCUSSED SEVERAL IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT WAYS THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION, UM, ABOUT WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT OUR CHILDREN ARE VACCINATED, UM, UM, WITH THEIR, UM, REGULAR IMMUNIZATIONS.
AND OBVIOUSLY THOSE CANNOT BE DONE WITH, UH, THROUGH TELEHEALTH AND JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR CHILDREN ARE PROGRESSING ALONG, UM, THE NORMAL, UH, UM, SEQUENCES THAT THEY SHOULD BE.
UM, AND THAT CAN'T BE DONE EVEN THROUGH TELEMEDICINE AS WELL.
UM, SO PREVENTIVE MEDICINE IS ABSOLUTELY NE NECESSARY.
IT DOES REQUIRE AN IN-PERSON VISIT.
I WILL SAY THOUGH, THAT, UM, FOR CERTAIN, UM, CHILDREN WHO ARE AT RISK, IT IS SOMETHING TO WEIGH IN TERMS OF WHEN PERHAPS IT IS DEFERRED.
UM, IF YOU HAVE A CHILD WHO IS IMMUNOCOMPROMISED OR AT RISK, BUT IT CERTAINLY SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN.
I WANNA THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR COVID-19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
REPRESENTING HARRIS COUNTY WAS DR.
ERICA BROWN, REPRESENTED THE CITY OF HOUSTON, DR.
SPECIAL THANKS TO, UH, PAST PRESIDENT KATHY FINNER ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON FOR PROVIDING US WITH THESE QUESTIONS AND TO OUR PRODUCERS, PRISCILLA KEY AND DAVID CASTILLO.
I'M STEVEN WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.