After the past two years of COVID-19, spring 2022 brought some much-needed relief, with pandemic-related hospitalizations remaining manageable and infection rates sitting at comfortably low levels.
But now, with variants of the omicron strain fueling higher infection rates across Louisiana, experts are warning of what could become a long, hot summer – and we’re not just talking about the temperature.
To get the latest on the status of the pandemic, we chatted with St. Tammany Health System infectious disease expert Dr. Mike Hill. Here’s what he had to say:
So, where are we with COVID here in St. Tammany Parish?
Well, I can tell you that here at St. Tammany Health System, while we’ve seen a recent uptick in cases, we’re prepared, supplied and ready to care for our community, no matter what COVID throws at us next.
That being said, we’ve seen a pretty dramatic increase in the local positivity rate over the past several weeks. This spring, St. Tammany Parish’s positive test rate was under 2%. As of July 5, it was at 25.5% – and that doesn’t even take into account home tests, so it’s probably much higher than that.
So, it’s out there.
I’m vaccinated. I’ve been twice boosted. Should I be worried?
Let’s say you should remain vigilant. I like that word better.
Even for those who are vaccinated and boosted, the threat posed by omicron, which is much more contagious than previous versions of the virus, is very real. Right now, BA.4 and BA.5 – which are omicron strains – are estimated to account for more than half of new U.S. cases of COVID-19.
The good news is that the federal government has committed to updating the vaccine “recipes” to better defend against omicron, so the cavalry is coming, so to speak.
When will those new vaccines get here?
There’s the catch. These things take time, and so we’re not expected to get new vaccines until the fall.
That brings me back to my point about remaining vigilant. Unlike those scary early days of the pandemic, we now know how COVID-19 spreads. So the same guidance we’ve been offering all along still applies for otherwise healthy people: Get vaccinated and boosted, wash your hands regularly and avoid crowded indoor settings.
If you’ve got no alternative – maybe you’ve got some air travel planned this summer – I would recommend you consider masking, even if you’re up-to-date on your shots, just to be safe.
OK, I’m going to kind of switch topics a little, but we’ve been hearing a lot about monkeypox. How concerned are you with that?
Not very. The first confirmed U.S. case this year was back in May, and it’s spreading, but it’s much less transmissible than COVID. Also, there are no recorded U.S. deaths from this monkeypox outbreak.
That’s not to say it’s not worth watching, and federal health officials are doing that. There’s already a vaccine for it, in fact.
But at this point, maintaining those COVID precautions – hand-washing, social distancing, vaccines and boosters – is probably the best advice.