SALT LAKE CITY — Over the past year, COVID-19 has lost much of the attention it once had, meaning that as the weather cools and the number of COVID-19 cases likely tends to rise, the reaction and prices related to the disease would likely be a little different.
Annie George, epidemiology manager for the Salt Lake County Department of Health, said that while COVID-19 testing costs money, it’s still important. He said other people can simply see a doctor or get a home test.
“It is vital to know with certainty what Array has. . . because there are remedy functions available,” he said.
However, he said the main message he had to convey was: “If you are sick, go home. “
Personal responsibilities
George said COVID-19 has helped others take steps that reap health benefits from the network, such as staying home when they were in poor health and washing their hands. He said that at the beginning of the COVID-19 era, many other ailments were “virtually non-existent” because other people were so careful about washing their hands and cleaning surfaces they touched.
George said other people should be aware that even if an illness isn’t too serious for them, it may be only for a colleague or someone that colleague is in contact with.
It’s more productive for employers and others to make arrangements for others with COVID-19 or other illnesses, and help them comply with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quarantine guidelines, George said. When it is mandatory for other people to return to work, they have other tactics to prevent others from getting sick, adding wearing masks.
Dr. Leisha Nolen, an epidemiologist at Utah State, said the CDC’s recommendations for COVID-19 have not replaced and that other people treat it the same way they used to. These rules come with wearing a mask if you are exposed to COVID. -19, self-isolate for five days after a positive test and wear a mask for five days after the end of that quarantine, and monitor yourself six days after being exposed.
George said the CDC has announced they will consider new COVID-19 recommendations, but said when they will be released.
Disease surveillance
One of the differences as the COVID-19 pandemic approaches its fourth year is how surveillance is conducted in the county and how it is reported.
George said the most important thing they’re considering now to know if COVID-19 becomes a challenge is syndromic surveillance, or how many visits to emergency departments and urgent care centers patients with COVID-19 symptoms report. He also said increases in Utah are sometimes minor. than in other coastal cities. Regardless of the evidence, he said this approach is a way the Health Ministry should continue.
George said they still monitor hospitalizations, but it’s a “lagging indicator” that provides more information about severity.
He said the Salt Lake County Health Department has a grant that allows it to track knowledge about RSV, COVID-19 and flu and will soon update its COVID-19 data showing knowledge about syndromic surveillance and hospitalization of all three viruses.
“Our goal is to get more simplified data so that the general public can understand it,” he said.
Vaccines will come at a price
When the new vaccine becomes available, likely in October, it won’t be distributed to anyone like previous COVID-19 vaccines — it will come at a price. Cindy Wynette, director of the COVID-19 vaccination program at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, said the maximum value will be covered through insurance, adding Medicare and Medicaid.
He said there would also be systems that would offer the vaccine to others who are uninsured or whose plans don’t cover the vaccine. He advised going to local fitness departments, network fitness centers and some Walgreen and CVS pharmacies to get vaccinated.
The bivalent vaccine is not yet available to everyone, until the new vaccine is available. Wynette said other people who haven’t received the bivalent vaccine deserve to get it because it treats the existing omcon subvariant and early studies show it also provides coverage against the eris variant that is currently on the rise in the United States.
Wynette and George said other immunocompromised people can simply contact their doctor and get a bivalent booster dose now or wait for the fall vaccine to become available.
George said the county’s fitness branch strongly advocates for COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines, for those for which they are approved.
He said that when the new COVID-19 vaccine becomes available next month, the Health Ministry will “strongly recommend everyone” to get it.
He said studies on the RSV vaccine have helped corporations create COVID-19 vaccines faster. The RSV vaccine is still awaiting approval from insurance corporations, but it will also be available soon.
Rich Lakin, director of vaccination for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, said that in some places it is already available by prescription until approved by the Utah Board of Physicians and can be obtained without a prescription, which he says is expected until the end of September.
George said RSV vaccines are especially important because there is no treatment like there is for COVID-19 and influenza, so vaccination is the best tool to prevent the spread of RSV. He said the vaccine was approved for people over 60 and pregnant. woman.