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COVID hospitalizations are at their lowest level after 4 years of the pandemic, but new variants are circulating. Meanwhile, bird flu has been detected in 36 dairy herds in nine states, so far only one human case has been proven in 2024. To find out how worried we deserve to be about all this, John Yang talks to epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina.
Note: Transcripts are both machine-generated and human-generated and edited for accuracy. They would possibly involve mistakes.
Jean Yang:
Four years into the pandemic, COVID hospitalizations are at an all-time low, but new variants are emerging. And now bird flu is making headlines. It has been discovered in at least 36 dairy herds in nine states. But this year, there has been only one shown human case.
So how worried are we about all of this? Katelyn Jetelina is the editor of the popular newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist and was recently named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in health. So, Katelyn, how worried are we about bird flu?
Katelyn Jetelina, writer of “Your Local Epidemiologist”: Yes, you know, what’s evident is that it continues to spread among cows and other animals, but the threat to the general public is very low. And that means we can’t do anything other than touch dead birds or animals, not drink raw milk, and maybe even call your congressman for more biosecurity support.
But, in reality, we are not in March 2020, or even January 2020. But, of course, the scenario can change, and regularly, with epidemics, it can change very quickly. I think the general public deserves to sound the alarm if we start to see person-to-person spread.
Right now, this is a reaction from all fitness public actors to avoid another pandemic and continue to focus on protecting the small organization of Americans who are most at risk, which are dairy and poultry workers right now.
Jean Yang:
Another thing that caught the attention of many people was the report that the FDA discovered fragments of dead virus in milk purchased at grocery stores. How involved are other people in this?
Katelyn Jetelina:
It’s scary and looks scary. But I calmed down when I learned that we had more than a hundred years of knowledge about the effectiveness of pasteurization. Moreover, just to verify that pasteurization worked, the FDA attempted to grow an active virus from samples of pasteurized milk from grocery stores, and the experiments failed. , which is a clever thing to do, because it means that those viral fragments were damaged pieces that can’t reproduce and therefore can’t harm us humans.
Since those studies were done with milk, they’ve also tested other dairy products like cottage cheese and sour cream. And so they say, and the beef sold in retail stores is also for eating. I think the most important thing here is not to drink unpasteurized. milk. It can make you very sick, especially at this time.
Jean Yang:
Then it’s avian influenza. Let’s reach out about COVID. Tell us about those new variants that go through the intriguing nickname of flirting.
Katelyn Jetelina:
What we do know is that COVID continues to mutate. That’s precisely what viruses do. The newest and largest variant is Omicron, but with very small adjustments. Flirt variants have only two more mutations in the Spike protein. This is in addition to about 50 adjustments we saw with the massive Omicron wave in 2021.
So with just two small changes, we know it probably won’t cause a tsunami of infection. It’s just not different enough from the previous ones. The question is whether it will cause a wave or a wavelet or nothing at all. Unfortunately, time will tell.
Jean Yang:
Does that mean that if you gained a booster last fall or since last fall, that would fix the problem?That those variants can simply circumvent this recall?
Katelyn Jetelina:
If you’re up to date on your COVID-19 vaccine, which for most people means a fall vaccine, some are eligible for a spring vaccine. And yes, it’s not the best combination, but it will definitely help with serious illnesses. and death, as it has mutated a bit. This would possibly mean that we will see a little more infections than before, but you are very well opposed to serious illness. If you’re up to date.
Jean Yang:
Will the COVID vaccine continue to be reformulated and remain in place with those variants and, like the annual flu, will it be mandatory to determine which strain will be dominant?
Katelyn Jetelina:
Yes, that’s precisely it. It turns out we’re moving toward an influenza model. So, where the COVID-19 vaccines will be updated annually to better accommodate the circulating strain. The FDA meeting will take a position next month, in mid-June, to make a final decision on the precise strain contained in this vaccine. But the general public should know that they can, in fact, expect an updated vaccine this fall.
Jean Yang:
Rougeole. Il there has been a global increase in measles. He previously said the U. S. was worried about what would happen here. What’s going on with measles here in the United States?
Katelyn Jetelina:
Yes, I mean, measles is very much present this year. And while the U. S. has a small number of cases, 132 cases in 21 states is still more than double what we had last year. I think the biggest challenge is that we’re giving measles a chance to spread further. That’s right. With more coals, because fewer people are getting vaccinated.
And the challenge with that is that it only increases the likelihood of a spark occurring, locating a very giant pocket of the unvaccinated and spreading like wildfire. So we actually need to lessen those embers as much as you can imagine right now.
Jean Yang:
Let’s go back to COVID with the ebb of the pandemic and the fact that many of them are disappearing. And recently, the requirement for hospitals to report COVID-related hospitalizations has ended. They no longer have to claim this information. As an epidemiologist, do you fear this?
Katelyn Jetelina:
It’s incredibly concerning because it feels like we’re returning to the pre-pandemic era. It was incredibly vital to have knowledge about hospitalizations in order to perceive where we want to be concerned, where action needs to be taken, or what it looks like now. that hospitalizations are low and we can relax a bit.
However, I think the positive news is that Health and Human Services is proposing a new rule under which all hospitalizations continue to report COVID-19 and other viruses, starting Oct. 1, outside of emergency periods.
And it’s open to public comment. But I’m hopeful that those reports will continue, which will allow us to have a very smart national picture of what’s going on with viruses right now.
Jean Yang:
Katelyn Jetelina, thank you very much.
Katelyn Jetelina:
Yes, thank you for having me.
John Yang is the anchor of PBS News Weekend and a correspondent for PBS NewsHour. He covered the first year of the Trump administration and lately reports on key domestic issues in Washington, D. C. and across the country.
Andrew Corkery is a national affairs producer at PBS News Weekend.
Kaisha Young is a producer for PBS News Weekend.
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