Medical professionals warn of COVID-19 surge during holiday season – MassLive.com

With the holiday season upon us, health officials warn cases of COVID-19 will increase and say medical professionals must do more to guard public health.

Between Oct. 15 and Nov. 11, there were 243 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Springfield higher than the number of cases in any other city or town in Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties and the second highest in the state after Boston, according to Massachusetts COVID dashboard.

There were 6,943 confirmed cases in the state during that period.

Doctors and other health advocates are expecting these numbers to spike over the next few weeks. They say there are ways to combat the spread.

Wastewater data shows COVID cases are increasing, Lara Jirmanus, a primary care physician and instructor at Harvard Medical School, said at a Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity briefing Monday.

In May 2021, former Gov. Charlie Baker lifted the mask mandate for vaccinated people in Massachusetts, in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.

Since then, the state has ended universal admission screening and free community testing for the virus. And it has reduced the frequency of mandates about if and when to get the booster vaccines.

Seasonal masking makes care safer during higher virus transmission periods, Jirmanus said.

Dr. David Alpern, a Northampton physician, said testing remains a way to avoid transmission.

Discontinuing universal admission testing for COVID-19 has been shown to result in a significant rise in hospital-acquired COVID-19, which carries a significant mortality rate, Alpern said.

Others Monday pointed to health consequences of not requiring masks.

Due to the lack of a mask mandate in the state, hospital-acquired COVID-19 is under-reported and under-appreciated, said Dr. Ted Pak, a hospital epidemiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

While some major hospitals in the state have reinstated mask mandates, like Baystate Health, others like Mass General Brigham dont require screening or masking of patients for the virus.

With COVID-19 on the rise in hospitals, Pak said four in 10 patients with undetected COVID-19 may transmit it to their hospital roommate.

Testing and masking is needed because its our ethical responsibility to protect our patients, Pak said.

The state Department of Public Health did not respond Monday to a request for comment about whether universal testing or a mask mandate will be reinstated. But the departments website provides an updated resource list for how residents can stay safe.

Also discussed at the press conference was long COVID, its effects, and the demographic it impacts.

Long COVID has become more of a concern, especially for those whove had [the virus] more than once and those among the 18-64 year-old age group, Jirmanus said.

Since 2021, nearly 1 million people in Massachusetts, or 16% of the population, have reported experiencing long COVID, Jirmanus said.

Long COVID poses a particular threat to the disabled community and those who are immunocompromised.

Disabled people dont have a choice as to the number of times they have to go to the hospital, so lives are at stake when hospitals dont have a mask mandate, said Colin Kilick, executive director at the Disability Policy Consortium.

This is a civil rights and equity issue, he said.

Disabled people are being discouraged from asking questions and there is an increase in medical distrust, said Jayda Jones, a disability advocate. The end of the public health emergency does not mean an end to affordable and safe healthcare.

The coalition wants the state to provide safe and accessible healthcare, free public access to testing, better communication about the risks of long COVID and a stronger defense of disability rights.

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Medical professionals warn of COVID-19 surge during holiday season - MassLive.com