What You Need to Know About the New COVID Variant, HV.1 – AARP

Thats good news as we enter the time of year when the spread of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, kicks into high gear. Cameron Wolfe, M.D., an infectious disease specialist at Duke Health, said during a September news briefing that we typically see a larger spike of COVID-19 in January and February, especially. And I dont see any reason that wont be the case [again], he said.

Currently, COVID-19 hospitalization rates are holding steady. Even still, nearly 16,000 Americans are being hospitalized each week with COVID-19, federal data shows, and more than 1,200 Americans died from the coronavirus the week of Oct. 7.

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The best way to protect yourself from winding up in the hospital with COVID or worse, dying from the disease is to get vaccinated, Binnicker and other health experts say. Vaccine uptake, however, has been low since the new vaccines became available in mid-September. As of mid-October, 7 percent of Americans in a national survey reported getting the shot.

And thats just not high enough, Binnicker says. We need to have a higher percentage vaccinated because we are seeing patients with COVID end up in the hospital and on ventilators.

Older adults have been more likely to get the new vaccine than younger age groups. Data from the national survey, reported by the CDC, show that 15.4 percent of adults ages 65 to 74 received the new COVID vaccine as of mid-October; that share jumps to 20.5 percent when looking at adults ages 75 and older.

In addition to staying up to date with the vaccine, Binnicker says people who want to lower their risk of getting COVID-19 can wear a mask when theyre out in crowded public spaces, such as the grocery store. A good fitting, high-quality mask can help to block transmission of the virus. Also: Wash your hands often. Thats really important to help prevent spread as well, Binnicker says.

Having symptoms? Test yourself. If youre positive, you may be eligible for a prescription treatment that can help stave off coronavirus complications and time is of the essence with these medications. They work best when started in the first five days of the start of symptoms.

If your test is negative, try again in a few days. Binnicker says because many people have built up immunity from vaccination or previous infections, it can take longer for the virus to build up to detectable levels in the respiratory tract.

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What You Need to Know About the New COVID Variant, HV.1 - AARP