Causes.com
| 9.26.23
Gov Offers Free At-Home COVID Tests as ‘Tripledemic’ Looms
Will you get the next booster shot?
Updated September 26, 2023, 12:30 p.m. EST
- The U.S. is providing free, at-home rapid COVID tests again. All households can order four tests to be mailed to them at covid.gov/tests.
- These tests should remain good to use through the end of the year. Some dates on the tests may show they have expired, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration extended the dates.
- The CDC recommends people test if they have COVID-related symptoms, including a sore throat, runny nose, loss of smell or taste, and a fever.
Updated September 18, 2023, 12:30 p.m. EST
- Doctors are warning of another tripledemic this fall and winter, as COVID, the flu, and RSV are circulating simultaneously. Health experts are urging the public to take preventative measures like getting the new COVID-19 booster, RSV vaccines for specific groups, and flu shots.
- Nirav Shah, principal director of the CDC, is encouraging people to utilize these vaccines and other tools at hand so we can "turn the tables on all three of those respiratory infectious diseases."
Updated September 13, 2023, 12:15 p.m. EST
- The CDC has recommended that everyone ages six months and up get the new COVID booster. Vaccines should be available starting this week.
- The booster will kick in about two weeks after you get it and will likely offer protection for a few months. Like the previous ones, this shot will lower your chances of getting COVID and make you more likely to come down with a mild case if you test positive.
- Click here to find out where to get the COVID booster near you.
Updated September 11, 2023, 3:00 p.m. EST
- The FDA approved a new round of COVID boosters by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna to be shipped nationwide within days.
- Federal officials are moving towards campaigning the shots as annual immunization, similar to the flu vaccine. The move addresses the fatigue many Americans feel about topics revolving around COVID.
- The CDC is expected to meet on Tuesday to discuss who should get the new shots. After the CDC's sign-off, the Biden administration plans to encourage the public to get their COVID and flu shots simultaneously to be fully prepared for the typical influx of cases during the cold weather.
What’s the story?
- Health officials are warning the public of a rise in COVID-19 cases as fall approaches.
- While individual cases are becoming tricky to track — as states are no longer required to report numbers — hospitalizations and deaths are rising nationwide. Labs have also reported wastewater samples testing positive for the disease.
The numbers
- COVID hospitalizations have continued to rise after an all-time low in June, with 5,630 cases on a 7-day average. The week of Aug. 26, the 7-day average reached 17,400, a nearly 16% increase from the week before.
- The week of Aug. 19 saw a 2.3% increase in emergency room visits with a COVID diagnosis, up from just 0.5% in July.
- As individual testing is down, experts are focusing on wastewater samples. Marlene Wolfe, an assistant professor at Emory University and program director for WastewaterSCAN, said:
“The wastewater is giving us a pretty clear picture that there has been, you know, quite an uptick in cases in these communities that we’re monitoring recently. We are in a period of higher levels of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater right now, and that’s associated with an increase in the number of cases in the community.”
- Jodie Guest, a professor of epidemiology at Emory University, also pointed to the increase in at-home test sales that showcase a rise in cases.
“We also see Covid tests being absent on their shelves in Walgreens and CVS and other places as well, because people have more transmission right now.”
New variant
- In mid-August, the World Health Organization announced a new variant called BA.2.867, unofficially dubbed Pirola.
- The new variant shows 30 mutations, a high number similar to Omicron, making it particularly transmissible. These stubborn variants are often less resistant to vaccines.
- Experts say that Pirola’s many mutations may signify a weaker variant, not a stronger one. Health officials noted that Pirola doesn’t often lead to an extreme illness, meaning hospitalizations will likely not skyrocket as they have in the past. Shira Doron, an infectious disease doctor and epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, said:
“The good news is, we’re still doing enough sequencing to be detecting new variants before they are widespread. It is not a foregone conclusion that simply by having 30-plus mutations.”
Moving forward
- The next COVID booster is expected to be available in the U.S. as soon as Sept. 13. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is meeting on Sept. 12 to discuss who will be eligible for the booster.
- So far, the data shows that the booster will protect against severe illness and death for all circulating variants.
- Experts are continuing with the same advice: mask, stay home when you’re sick, get tested if you’re exposed or symptomatic, and stay up to date on vaccines. Guest said:
“If you’re in a crowded situation, recognizing the odds are that someone in that room probably does have Covid-19 at this point in time and so masking is a great way to protect yourself and to protect others that you’re going to be around later.”
Will you get the next booster shot?
-Jamie Epstein
(Photo credit: iStock/AzmanL)
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Already scheduled my appointment. A local pharmacy comes into our building and holds several clinic days each month during fall into the winter. Makes it so easy, and it's good to know neighbors and businesses in the building are vaccinated. This year they are offering the new COVID vaccine, flu, Hep B, pneumonia, RSV, Shingrix and/or tetanus.
Science indicates it would be the intelligent thing to do so, yes, I'll be getting my booster as soon as it's available.
As a researcher I have my own way of preventing getting COVID which would bother the crooked Pharmaceutical Industry which shuns cures. By the way, I don't and will never wear a mask.
I currently work at a school and have been covering classes for teachers out with COVID. Because of my health & age, I will definitely be getting the booster & follow all protocols to avoid getting sick.
There is nothing political about this. It's science & research that have demonstrated the efficacy of vaccines. I will trust the science & the epidemiology experts and not some nut job social media meme.
"Participants who received a bivalent mRNA booster vaccine dose had lower rates of hospitalisation due to COVID-19 than participants who did not receive a bivalent booster vaccination, for up to 120 days after vaccination. These findings highlight the importance of bivalent mRNA booster vaccination in populations at high risk of severe COVID-19. Further studies with longer observation times are warranted."
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(23)00122-6/fulltext
Of course I will get the fall Covid shot along with the RSV shot, the flu shot and I think the shingles shot. I do it with great hesitation because these shots make me sick for a week to 10 days every time but it is better than dying from one of these conditions that we have all been warned about. Duh!
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waiting for the apt ! Getting vaxed is not only for myself, but also for my family, friends and community.
At our age my wife and I would be reckless not to get the booster. We have had the entire series and thank God, no COVID.
I have already requested the free Covid home tests and will get the booster when it is available (I just called the pharmacy and they have not gotten their shipment as yet.)
Yes, I will. I am not an idiot and I do not have any desire to die of Covid
ABSOLUTELY.
I already got the booster. I don't understand why Republicans have made such an issue of the covid vaccines, when they don't seem to have an issue with the flu or RSV vaccines. They took the lead of the orange idiot early on and can't let go of that warped view.
The boosters as well as masks being put back in place in public places are necessary and should be free to all.
YES!!!!! I have no desire to get sick and risk getting Long COVID.
I will get the next booster shot along with my flu shot. I do not intend to get long COVID, nor to have any serious version of either disease.
I'm glad these will be available, but I still wish our government were doing it all it can to prevent and plan for the next pandemic.
This is a very good proven vaccine. It will prevent hospitalization and serious illnesses in majority of vaccine receivers. It will also increase herd immunity in the community thereby reducing the transmission.
"Recent findings published in September 2023 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease suggest that a combination of three specific vaccines may help protect your brain down the road"
"Paul E. Schulz, MD, senior author of the study and the Umphrey Family Professor in Neurodegenerative Diseases at McGovern Medical School, commented: “The findings suggest to us that vaccination is having a more general effect on the immune system that is reducing the risk for developing Alzheimer’s.”
"In May 2022, Dr. McGovern’s team also presented research revealing that getting just one influenza vaccine could reduce Alzheimer’s risk by 40%, compared to those who didn’t get vaccinated."
"Individuals who received the Tdap/Td vaccine exhibited a 30% decreased risk of Alzheimer’s."
"Researchers evaluated older adults aged 65 and above with no history of dementia in the past two years. Over an eight-year period, they compared two groups closely matched in characteristics: One group received vaccinations against tetanus, diphtheria, shingles, and pneumonia, and the other group didn’t. The goal was to determine how much these vaccines influenced the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease."
"In perspective, 7.2% of the vaccinated group developed the disease, compared to 10.2% of those who weren’t vaccinated. (The researchers’ formula to arrive at the 30% difference was: Risk in unvaccinated – risk in vaccinated / risk in unvaccinated X 100%)"
"those inoculated with the herpes zoster (or shingles) vaccine saw a 25% reduction in Alzheimer’s risk, with 8.1% of the vaccinated cohort developing the condition compared to 10.7% unvaccinated. The pneumococcal vaccine was associated with a 27% diminished risk. In this case, 7.92% of vaccinated patients developed Alzheimer’s, as opposed to 10.9% of their unvaccinated counterparts."
"Avram Bukhbinder, MD, a pediatric neurology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital and alumnus of UTHealth Houston, suggests that “vaccines may change how the immune system responds to the build-up of toxic proteins that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.” Dr. Bukhbinder further posits that the vaccines might improve the efficiency of immune cells, enabling them to clear toxic proteins more effectively or modulate the immune response to minimize damage to healthy brain cells."
"some vaccines protect against conditions like shingles, which can contribute to neuroinflammation, which is a potential factor in Alzheimer’sdevelopment."
https://www.thehealthy.com/alzheimers/news-vaccines-reduce-alzheimers-risk-univeristy-of-texas-study/
I received all the previous vaccines and contracted Covid. My symptoms were mild and I recovered quickly, I am 73 years old and have had open heart surgery. I trust in science and believe that the vaccines helped in my bout with Covid.
Just got it!!
I don't get a flu shot and I will not be getting a covid shot. I got the original shot and after seeing how misleading a lot of the information that was pushed I realize absolutely any further shots are completely unnecessary.
At 71 I was not in love with needles but less desiring illness. So I got my first of many more shots to come. I will wear a mask if needed and run from anyone who coughs. Now at 74 not having had COVID and having watched several younger friends die or become seriously disabled I take every shot they will give me.
Yes to the latest booster.
These vaccines for covid cause more harm than covid! Myocarditis is making young people drop dead, even healthy athletic types! Now we have all the research, studies, and facts and science backs them up! Same with masks! They don't work! They cause more harm than not! Even mask manufacturers label the side of the box saying they "don't protect against covid or other viruses"!
enough is enough!
You think you can frighten me into taking a shot that hasn't been tested on people yet? Not a chance!
absolutely there's no shane in my game