While it would be puzzling if the leader of the free world, in his 80s, were to suffer from COVID-19, a virus that has killed more than a million Americans, President Joe Biden is likely to be doing well.
Vaccinated, beefed up and treated with antiviral drugs, with access to the best medical care in the country, Biden will likely revel in chills and muscle aches for a few days, but possibly not become seriously ill.
That said, as we continue with our daily lives, we must not forget that not everyone who contracts this virus will do so well. The most recent subvariation is more contagious than ever.
Bad news: Biden has COVID. La news? He is more provided than Trump.
There have been so many letters and numbers designating the other types of COVID-19 that it can be difficult to track them. The last vital detail not to be forgotten is BA. 5, which is a subvariant of omicron. It is perhaps the highest infectious to date and has the leading strain of infection in the United States.
Don’t think it is just because you’ve already had COVID-19. Infections are on the rise, and the numbers are vastly underestimated due to home testing. Everyone turns out to be infected.
The BA. 5 subvariant causes a moment and even a third reinfection. My medical colleague, who was suffering from COVID-19 3 months ago, fell ill with BA. 5 last week. No one is safe.
The fact that Biden, arguably the safest guy in the world, has contracted this virus means he can get it.
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This isn’t the first time a sitting president has contracted the coronavirus. President Donald Trump was hospitalized in 2020 with low oxygen levels, but it was at another time, with other teams to fight the virus and another type that underestimated the severity of COVID-19 and did not sufficiently appreciate the recommendation of his scientists.
We are now out of the pandemic phase of COVID-19 and are in a state of “living with the virus. “Indoor social gatherings are now and mask mandates have fallen.
While many of us are back in business as usual, don’t do those who don’t have the same luxury. While hospitalizations and deaths have dropped dramatically, immunocompromised and vulnerable Americans continue to die every day.
Not only that, as any recently inflamed user can tell you, this new subvariation can cause even the healthiest people to lose their balance for several days, which makes them too tired to paint or paint as a family. Long COVID are still unclear.
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Living with the virus means we can’t let our guard down and settle for everyone being infected. This attitude will not affect vulnerable people, as the waves will likely continue.
In spaces where spread rates are rapid, we deserve to hand out masks, test at home before any big gathering, and isolate ourselves for at least five days if those tests are positive.
COVID-19 vaccines have been almost miraculous in containing and preventing serious infections and deaths, but it is clear that BA. 5 will circumvent this immunity. With the upcoming booster crusade this fall, it’s imperative that government and staff corporations update vaccines for newer variants.
Pfizer-BioNTech is already adapting the latest vaccines to combat omicron, showing some activity even against the most recent BA. 5 strains and demonstrating safety. Modern does too. Government preparedness and accelerated approval through this fall are essential.
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Just as those corporations have mobilized to update vaccines, we want to make our component to sign up for boosters once the crusade is underway. With over six hundred million COVID vaccines administered to date, this is not a new technology. There is no general excuse for not receiving them now. They are and have been effective in preventing serious illness and death.
Biden’s COVID diagnosis serves as an indicator of a fact we are experiencing around us: BA. 5 is circulating and everyone is again in danger. Our options beyond what is possible as a country mean that COVID-19 will remain a boring roommate. Living, however, doesn’t mean we’re going to have to review the mortality and morbidity we’ve noticed in 2020 and 2021. Test, isolate, reinforce, wear a mask if required, and we can put that unwanted roommate to bed.
Dr. Thomas K. Lew, a member of the USA TODAY Board of Collaborators, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and an adjunct physician at Stanford Health Care Hospital – ValleyCare. All reviews expressed here are their own. Follow him on Twitter: @ThomasLewMD
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