Revisiting tips to prevent COVID-19 infection as Long Island cases rise – Newsday

When the virus that causes COVID-19emerged in 2019, no one had protectiveimmunity. Nearly five years later, most of the United States population has some immunity, either because ofvaccination,infectionor both.Inmost cases, COVID-19illnesses now are less severe than in the early days of the pandemic.

But the coronavirus remains a public health threat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And on Long Island and statewide,positive tests for COVID-19 have been on the rise since late spring.

The CDC's recommendations from how to prevent getting infected orpassing the viruson to someone else, to symptoms and therapeutic treatments remain largely the same.

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 isstill transmitted by airborne particles and droplets, according to the CDC. The risk of infection increases with close or prolonged contact with an infected person, especially in indoor or crowded settings.

The CDC has long recommended vaccination against the virusas the best way to prevent serious illness from COVID-19. Vaccination also provides some protection from initial infection.Avoiding close contact with others if infected, masking in crowded indoor spaces and hand washing can also prevent infection, the CDC says.

In most cases, yes, experts say.CDC recommendations call foreveryone 6 months and older to get an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19vaccine to protect against potentially serious complications of the diseasethis fall and winter. Getting an updated version of the vaccine is important because it will be better able to protect against new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Also, the protection from a vaccine declines over time. The updated COVID-19 vaccines will be available later this year from Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer, most likely in September or October.

Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of epidemiology and public health with Northwell Health, recommended taking the vaccine as soon as its available.

"Its a long time since weve had a vaccine for many of us, its going to be a year," he said. Because Long Islanders and Americans in general have done a "remarkably poor" job keeping up with vaccinations in recent years, he recommended signing up to take the flu vaccine at the same time as the one against COVID-19.

People with COVID-19 can be infectious from 1 to 2 days before and up to 8 to 10 days after symptoms begin, according to the CDC. The majority of transmission appears to occur during the early periods of infection, particularly in the 1 to 2 days before symptoms start and within the first few days of their onset.

Yes. Symptoms include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, nasal congestion or rhinorrhea, vomiting, diarrhea and skin rashes. However, not everyone infected experiences these symptoms.

Anyone with symptoms who is planningtoattenda gathering or visitsomeoneespecially vulnerable to illness, like anelderly person or the very young or immunosuppressed, should take a COVID-19 test, experts said.

But test wisely, Farber said. "The rapid tests that we now rely on are no longer particularly good at diagnosing COVID, with these newer variants that are circulating," he said. A positive result still likely means infection, but false negatives are possible with rapid tests, also known as antigen tests. For that reason, especially if you have symptoms but negative results, "if you want to test reliably, you need to do a PCR." The PCR testsare generally administered by a health care professional and results take longer, but they offer what the CDC calls the "gold standard" of accuracy.

Not necessarily. If you have COVID-19 symptoms, you should stay home until they improve, according to the CDC. But since March, the agency has advised that people can return to work and regular activities if their symptoms are mild and improving and its been at least a day since theyve had a fever. "If you go out, think about wearing a mask," said Dr. Sharon Nachman, division chief of pediatric infectious disease at Stony Brook Children's Hospital.

Dr. Aaron Glatt, chair of the Department of Medicine and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital, said "youre probably contagious" if you test positive, even if you feel fine. At a minimum, Glatt said, consider the risk profile of the people you might be around and tell them youve been sick. Consider that "Most people wont want to be around you" if theres a chance you can get them sick too, he said.

Start by exercising common sense, said Nachman. "If you have a fever, you should be home drinking fluids and taking it easy." If you have no fever, see how your body responds to walking up the stairs: "if you are air hungry or getting short of breath then no exercise."

Antiviral treatments like Paxlovid have been shown to reduce hospitalizations and deaths among older people and people with underlying health conditions when taken soon after COVID-19 symptoms start. But "for people who are under 60 and healthy, theres no evidence" to indicate their use, said Glatt.

The experts say yes. New York State testing data shows that positive tests have been on the rise statewide and Long Islandwide since late spring, though the latest Long Island rate of 16.9 cases per 100,000 people is well below the January high of 72.3. Whats going on? "We are seeing new variants, and its possible that our current variant is more infectious than the prior one," Nachman said. Also, she said, "People have lost some immunity to COVID over the last year, so perhaps theyre a little more susceptible than last year." Changes in behavior like more socializing could also play a role, she said. However, "hospitalization rates and death rates are not up significantly," Farber said. "Most people are recovering very well."

Nicholas Spangler is a general assignment reporter and has worked at Newsday since 2010.

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Revisiting tips to prevent COVID-19 infection as Long Island cases rise - Newsday