It was March 13, 2020, that St. Tammany Health System diagnosed its first COVID-19 patient, and just more than two years later, encouraging signs are emerging in our collective fight against the coronavirus.
Mask mandates are being lifted, at-home tests are more available than they’ve previously been, vaccinations are nudging upward while infection rates – along with hospital admissions for COVID – are going down.
It’s enough to have more than a few people asking the same question: Are we done with COVID-19?
“Well, you’re asking the wrong question,” said Dr. Mike Hill, St. Tammany Health System’s infectious disease specialist. “You might be done with COVID, but the question is whether COVID is done with us.”
There’s no question that the omicron variant is in retreat. Three months ago, on Jan. 12, nearly 72 people were under COVID care at STHS’s Covington hospital, the most since early September and enough to fill nearly a third of the hospital’s bed capacity.
On March 15, the hospital had just nine COVID inpatients, a much more manageable count from a healthcare standpoint.
So, yes, this could be the beginning of the end of the pandemic. But it could also be merely the calm before another COVID storm.
“There’s always a chance another, more virulent variant could emerge that could drive up infections again,” Dr. Hill said. “Remember spring 2021? On Easter Sunday, we had zero COVID inpatients for the first time since the pandemic began. And then along came the delta variant in summer 2021, bringing with it a surge in infections.
“Once delta began to wane, many people again thought we were through the worst of it – and then along came omicron.”
While it’s too early to say for sure, there’s some thought among health experts that COVID might be beginning to transition from a pandemic phase to an endemic phase, meaning it goes from being widely present to being present in specific regions, making it easier to control.
Think localized outbreaks of influenza or West Nile virus.
That being said, Dr. Hill cautions against getting complacent, as there are no guarantees another disruptive variant won’t emerge this summer.
“The key to COVID is to take the necessary steps to protect you and your family,” Dr. Hill said. “You know the saying: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That’s still true.
“Now’s the time to stock up on at-home test kits, now that they’re much more available. If you haven’t gotten your vaccine or your booster yet, do that now, too. And, of course, mask when warranted, particularly when attending large, indoor events, and always practice good hand hygiene.
“If we all do that, together, then we might one day be done with COVID once and for all.”