Pandemic Lessons: You probably haven’t thought about Covid in a while. Is it back? – Buffalo News

Two days after the Fourth of July, the email arrived: Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on Recent Increase in Covid-19 Activity.

Emails with a subject line similar to that were a near-daily occurrence during much of 2020, 2021 and 2022. First from the office of then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and later from the current governor, Kathy Hochul, the emails contained detailed and often sobering sometimes even startling information about the spread of the virus across New York.

When the state dropped the frequency of the emails to weekly in early 2023, and ultimately ended their regular distribution on May 12 of that year, the feeling was gratifying.

Maybe, just maybe, we were done with Covid-19.

We were done with the pandemic in May 2023. Thats when the World Health Organization declared it over. But much like influenza didnt leave us after the 1918 pandemic, Covid-19 is here to stay.

The governors update email last week indicated infection numbers are rising again. You should be aware, but not alarmed.

Heres a look at the situation:

What exactly did the states update email say?

Everywhere we turn, people are feeling sick. Not always terribly sick, but just stuffy, groggy, Id-rather-stay-in-bed sick.It seems inescapable. Is an extra-sniffly winter going to be our new normal?

Nothing overly nerve-racking for most people, but it was a clear reminder that Covid-19 hasnt gone away. Some new variants a series of them called FLiRT, and another called LB.1 are spreading and causing increases in hospitalizations in some parts of New York state and around the country, according to the state update.

Those rising hospitalization numbers are still relatively low compared to other years, but just enough of a blip on a chart to warrant noticing: On July 3, the statewide average of Covid-19 hospital admissions was .72 per 100,000 people. Thats higher than the number from one year ago .31 per 100,000 people but noticeably lower than the figure from this time in 2022, 1.66 per 100,000.

More telling are the charts that track hospitalizations in different parts of the state. If you click on New York City or Long Island, you will notice that the trend has been steadily upward in recent days. In Western New York, the chart has short peaks and small valleys, indicating low numbers and less of a trend.

An informal check-in by The Buffalo News with some Western New York-based hospital systems didnt reveal anything different, either. A spokesman for Kaleida Health, for example, said the numbers are low, with three inpatients apiece at Buffalo General Medical Center and Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, and most of them admitted with Covid not as a primary diagnosis.

Erie County Medical Center has seen few Covid cases in recent weeks, but no sign yet of an uptick.

So the news seems positive, so far, from inside regional hospitals.

These are all good things, said Dr. John Sellick, an infectious diseases specialist with the University at Buffalo and Kaleida Health, and that doesnt mean its not going to change next week or the week after.

Dr. Thomas Russo, left, and Dr. John Sellick, two leading experts in the study of Covid-19, at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, say a new uptick in related cases is something to keep an eye on, especially if youre higher risk for a potentially challenging infection.

So we can feel OK about it?

Generally yes, in the same way you can feel OK about any other virus going around. Feel free not to worry, especially if your health is good, but do take notice.

To me, this is just the same kind of evolution that weve always seen with flu viruses or with norovirus, in that a strain that becomes fit for transmission is going to win out, Sellieck said. Theres a bunch of viruses meaning variants that are able to transmit, but theres still no evidence that the disease is getting more severe.

Its worth keeping an eye on the numbers, he said. Its also worth remembering that at multiple points throughout the pandemic, upstate New Yorks trend lagged behind New York City, so we could still see an uptick.

What if Im in a more vulnerable category?

If you are older, or have certain comorbidities that increase your risk of Covid-19 complications, or are immunocompromised, its wise to revisit some of the basic precautions: Consider avoiding crowded situations, especially indoors. Open air, or even open windows, are a good thing. Practice good hand hygiene, and have a mask with you for when you need it, or even simply want it.

If you fall in that high-risk category, depending how risk-averse you are, think about whether you want to be going out for dinner. Do you want to be going to a bar? said Dr. Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalos Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Weddings obviously could be very important, so if youre high risk, you want to weigh that, or if you do attend, can you wear a mask most of the time? If its patio dining, obviously thats safer. Theres a way to decrease risk with some modifications of those activities.

Registered nurse Colleen Danaher readies the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent Covid-19 vaccine for a patient in the Town of Tonawanda in 2022. A Buffalo infectious disease expert says those concerned about an uptick in Covid cases may want to consider a booster shot if they have not received one in the last year or so.

Lets go back to masks. Is it time to be wearing them?

Thats a purely personal choice, but given how rarely we see masks worn nowadays, it can be difficult to know when its wise to consider putting one on. For help on navigating those nuances, we reached out to one of the worlds most prominent experts on air quality and safety.

Linsey Marr is a distinguished professor at Virginia Tech and a MacArthur Fellow who is leading the development of a rapid test designed to detect the presence of airborne Covid-19 virus particles in a given space. During the pandemic, she told The Buffalo News that she was avoiding eating indoors altogether. In an email this week, we asked Marr, How do you make decisions nowadays about whether to enter a crowded restaurant, shop or other similar gathering spot?

Her response: I have been going into crowded indoor areas without a mask for a while now. If I hear someone coughing, I move away from them, put on a mask, or leave. I have been wearing an N95 respirator on airplane flights during the current uptick in cases.

Reported Covid-19 cases have climbed in recent days, raising the specter that those at higher risk may want to consider wearing a mask indoors.

What else can we do to maximize our safety?

As with all things Covid-related, this depends on your situation. Russo offered a couple of tips:

Whether you get that Covid shot now or wait till fall, when new formulations are likely to be released, is also a nuanced choice.

If youre in that highest-risk group, and particularly if you didnt get that shot in the fall, and you have an important wedding or anticipate doing some of these high-risk activities, then I think its not too late to get the formulation thats available right now, Russo said, adding that you could still get the new shots in the fall. If youre otherwise healthy, very low risk, and particularly if you might have been infected in the last six months, then I think you could probably hold off.

Follow Tim OShei on Twitter @timoshei .

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Pandemic Lessons: You probably haven't thought about Covid in a while. Is it back? - Buffalo News