California report says XBB. 1. 16 variant is contagious but does not raise concerns about a return to the early stages of the pandemic
A new variant of Covid that some public health officials have warned could be linked to conjunctivitis, or conjunctivitis, has set off small alarms about the virus despite a continued decline in cases and deaths.
Infectious disease experts, however, say this is part of the trajectory of such a virus.
In late April, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued an alert stating that other people inflamed with the XBB. 1. 16 strain, dubbed “Arcturus” on social media, “may be more likely to have conjunctivitis as a symptom of their COVID-19 infection. “
The strain is likely to be more transmissible than other recent variants, and other people “take the same moderate Covid precautions to help avoid infection,” the report says.
But the variant is expected to raise considerations about a return to earlier stages of the pandemic, according to infectious disease experts.
“It’s like the kid who screamed wolf,” Dr. Brown said. Celine Gounder, epidemiologist and public fitness editor for KFF Health News.
“The fear is that if you shout wolf every time there’s a new variant, when you don’t have to worry anymore, you’re going to lose credibility with the general public. “
The number of covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths has declined since January, according to knowledge from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Life has also continued to return to normal, with most people no longer wearing masks in public spaces.
The Arcturus strain is a “variant of concern” because “although highly contagious, it appears to be more severe” than other variants, said William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Covid vaccines also appear to oppose the variant, Schaffner said.
There is also increased immunity to the virus among the general population, which is the “biggest driving force of adjustments in severity and how the virus affects people,” said Justin Lessler, a professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina.
The new strain appears to be a component of “an evolving virus,” Lessler said.
“Everything indicates that we are settling into a flu-like world where the virus continues and continues and continues to evolve and evades the immune formula and we’re going to have repeated outbreaks because of that,” Lessler said.
With such a scenario, lawmakers and the general public have a verbal exchange about “how many deaths are we willing to tolerate” and how much to “spend to save you from death and move on from there,” Gounder said.
“It’s a price trial; This is an epidemiological judgment.
In the meantime, there are still helpful precautions other people can take to oppose the virus, such as vaccines, masks and immediate testing, Lessler said.
“If you’re or live with someone who is high risk, I think caution is advised,” Lessler said. “And we still have smart equipment to help combat it. “