I read and subscribe to your newsletter. I have followed you since the heart of the SarsCov2 pandemic and am beyond grateful for your hard work and advocacy. Thank you for what you do.
I have a question I'm hoping you'd be willing to chew on, coming from a place of respect, appreciation, and genuine pleading for myself and my community:
Why don't you mask year-round in public spaces? Like grocery stores, doctors' offices, drugstores, transportation, etc?
A large chunk of people are naturally immune compromised. Or on immune suppression. Or have autoimmune conditions. Etc. As an epidemiologist, you are intimately aware of how one-way masking of the vulnerable individual can only go so far. Especially in an abysmal air filtration, testing, and infectious disease conscious landscape like the one we exist in currently.
My community and I have just as much of a right to exist in public spaces as those with more health privilege. The actions of nearly everyone unmasked just tells us that our furthering disability and death is not important enough. The general public, even our own friends and family, would rather us absorb that harm than take accountability for their personal role in the transmission environment they create. People would rather let us die than put a mask on.
We are put not only at physical harm, but at emotional harm. These actions tell us that we are second-class. Expendables. And I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the cumulative impacts of this over our lifetimes just sets us up for more suffering.
Why not become part of the solution and safety net for us? It is one of the easiest and most effective ways of helping lower infectious disease transmission of all kinds.
Your public clout is vital to our visibility and protection. If someone like you takes up this cause, it gains more legitimacy and traction. A cause, however legitimate, can only championed so far by the people it most impacts. Those of privilege and the larger community must pick it up if we are to matter. You are our bridge.
Would you be willing to set the trend and be an ally to a forgotten community?
I hope Dr. Jetelina takes the time to read and respond to this thoughtful question. Vulnerable people often don't have a choice about going to in-person medical visits, on airplanes, trains, grocery stores etc. so it seems unfair for less vulnerable people to unnecessarily expose them.
Thank you… this is exactly my question as well. We can’t even get doctors to mask! It’s like when that doctor first recommended handwashing and was bullied out of practice. Why is there such a disconnect? Covid is airborne…even if not for others people should have an interest in protecting themselves from possibly lifelong damage and disability.
I went through the 5 stages of grief in the past 3 years over society collectively deciding they were done with masking, but my main consolation is that one-way N95s are indeed remarkably effective. I've worn them in many crowded situations (planes, transport, concerts), and while in contact with sick individuals, and have never got sick afterwards, to this day. That said, if I can avoid super-crowded places during peak months, I do so, even if it means rescheduling doctor appointments.
Myself and countless others i know have not been so lucky despite constant vigilance. I'm really glad you've managed! *high fives* And heck yes to still masking *fist bump*
I wish you and your community health and long life. I am currently healthy but have close family and friends who are immunocompromised. I fervently hope my loved ones do not see my failure to mask in public as indifference to whether they live or die!! I am curious how Dr. Jetelina replies, but speaking only for myself: I have felt absolved of the obligation to mask because I’ve been under the impression that wearing an N-95 mask does, in fact, give the wearer good protection? Is this not the case?
Indirectly it can really feel that way if we're all operating under the same data points. But I know many of us are operating with different information. I appreciate your love and care and willingness to understand. Most don't have that. The goal is for people to care like you do, even if information hasn't been quite as disseminated as it should be to everyone at this point. An Unfortunate failure of the public health authorities in America, sprinkled with a dose of everyday devaluing of disabled, elderly, and marginalized lives. Culminates in such an awful and harmful fever pitch of modern day eugenics and makes me so devastated.
Too little spoons for too much detail, but while n95 when worn by anyone is an excellent tool to fend off infectious disease, one-way masking by the vulnerable in a sea of unmasked vectors of transmission still only goes so far. And the greatest method for decreasing transmission is masking source.
An additional point I'd like to gently offer, especially since you are clearly in good faith, is that requiring the vulnerable to absorb the risks created by the majority not taking responsibility for the infectious disease environment they're creating... it's pretty crappy behavior when you think about it, right? Because it's not inconsequential in impact. It's really harmful and dangerous for people. And then instead of taking accountability for the environment created by not doing their part to reduce transmission of disease, putting the onus on vulnerable people to absorb that impact? It just doesn't sit right to me, even if I weren't part of that community. Does that make sense?
Yes, it does make sense, absolutely. I hope public health evolves - and quickly - to prioritize the lives of the most vulnerable among us and reduce disease transmission through more research, better education, increased empathy, and higher moral standards. I struggle with permanent public masking being a solution, though selfish luck surely skews my perspective on this. I have no problem wearing a mask in certain situations (during high transmission, or in the NICU, etc.) yet I can't help feeling that we lose *something* if we stop seeing each other's faces. But I cannot put my finger on a rational level of deadly disease transmission, above which we all universally mask and below which we don't. Of course if I knew that wearing a mask would prevent another person catching a dangerous disease, I would! It's the uncertainty of it, the game of risk, that makes it so hard, I think. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you how socially difficult it can be to be the ONLY one masking.
Thank you very much for your reply and your honesty. My own response is certainly insufficient, perhaps even hurtful. Stay healthy this season, and I will keep all my masks, though knowing when to wear them will remain a personal struggle.
To be honest, it sounds like you haven't adopted masking even as much of a partial solution if you're speaking about having felt absolved from it. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I want to clarify - permanency & perfection wasn't what I was requesting in terms of masking. But with the way infectious disease - specifically covid - is trending still, being considerate of year-round spread is vital. And we know respiratory season is absolutely not the only time that covid surges during the year. Not only that, a decent enough amount of reputable experts, such as the WHO, don't categorize us as being out of a pandemic yet.
A quote from Maria Van Kerkhove, interim director of the WHO’s Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, as of March 2024: "COVID’s not in the news every day, but it’s still a global health risk. If we look at wastewater estimates, the actual circulation [of SARS-CoV-2] is somewhere between two and 20 times higher than what’s actually being reported by countries. The virus is rampant. We’re still in a pandemic. There’s a lot of complacency at the individual level, and more concerning to me is that at the government level."
I can empathize with feeling the loss of the "something." I don't even get the luxury of seeing my family and friends' faces regularly anymore because nearly noone in society is taking accountability for their role in transmission.
Beyond that, my access to communication as a deaf person (eg lip reading and facial expression) has been severely compromised, unless I want to expose myself to further disability. It all sucks and impacts every single aspect of my life.
If everyone did a little more of their part, people like myself wouldn't have to absorb those kinds of impacts.
At the very least I hope you consider asking YOUR vulnerable family and friends what THEY feel about it. We're not a monolith, they'll have their own feelings. But it's important if you're making decisions directly impacting their welfare, to actually ask them their thoughts.
I will say from experience that the "something" that's been most impactful for me to have lost in all of this - even over hearing and comprehending the world around me - is not the facial component. It’s that even the most well meaning like yourself will still find that personal accountability to perpetuated collective harm is the line for your love. That's one of the most devastating losses I've ever experienced, and I hope you never have to know what it feels like. I do realize your hesitation is likely from lack of full comprehension of everything. But it doesn't quite change that feeling when we've had nearly 5 years of data and time to adjust and learn.
An aside, living or dying isn't quite the fear for most of us. Further disability on top of existing quality of life from significant disability is the concern. Many of us are already bedbound, in medical debt, being shuffled from doctor to doctor, receiving caregiving for basic functioning, etc. Death is not the worry, it's the remaining living years in even more dire straits. I know enough people where a swift covid death would be a relief.
I am very sorry for all your losses. I did indeed ask my most immunocompromised loved ones their thoughts, upon reading your original comment - and thank you for prompting that convo, and also for illuminating for me with your latest reply the stress and fear that still weigh on so many. I actually hadn't understood that your primary concern remains COVID - I assumed your original question for Dr. Jetelina was more about all manner of circulating viruses (including but not limited to COVID) which are all less risky for healthy people and potentially deadly for immunocompromised people. Such is indeed the spreading sense of COVID complacency. For what it's worth, my family seems more resigned to the general public unmasking - but I do not fault you at all for bravely raising and pressing your objections and educating others on the risks we expose the vulnerable to.
I would be curious - and perhaps YLE could do a post on this - how public masking norms in Asia affect the rates of respiratory illnesses there. If I understand correctly, not having been myself, it is more expected that healthy people mask in public. Are vulnerable populations better able to avoid infection there, as a result, or is that impossible to tease out?
It occurred to me: perhaps I could carry a mask and put it on if I see anyone else with a mask on, with the assumption being that if someone is not wearing a mask, then they are comfortable with me not wearing one. I would be curious to know what you think of this approach. And thank you once again for your thoughtful, patient, and gentle responses.
What I think is I that you're a well meaning but imperfect ally. And that it's horrifying that THIS conversation is one of the most positive and considerate conversations I've had with even close family surrounding infectious disease and the importance of caring for our impact on vulnerable humans.
What I think is that my new year's resolution is to not beg and plead anymore for people to value my life and my community's life enough.
And that's where my role in this conversation will end.
Thank you for these important updates! Ob/Gyn here. FYI any adult around a neonate should have an updated Tdap to protect newborn from exposure.
(I remember when my tetanus is due based on granddaughters’s birthdate)
we also stress importance of RSV vax to pregnant women in 3rd trimester as immunity crosses placenta and has some protection for newborn as there’s no vax for them.
This is when I "relearned" that my tetanus shot was not just a tetanus shot...my daughter required me to make sure mine was updated before the birth of her kids. I wish more doctors like you stressed this to adults...it is not all about us!!
Wife and I also just commented on this, as we just got our booster -but had never been told by our PCP that we needed to update our protection every 10 years!
Thank you so much for these updates and information - you add a valuable epidemiology perspective to this molecular virologist's knowledge base. One small question - was the statement that norovirus "doesn’t have a stable coating called a capsid" correct? My understanding as that its naked capsid is what made it to hard to kill. Sorry for being a virus nerd - just want to make sure I didn't miss something. Keep up the awesome work!
I would love your perspective on why the COVID vaccine is next to impossible to find for babies right now, here in New Jersey. I wish the CDC would either update its guidance to recommend the vaccine for children once they are old enough to get the shot at a pharmacy, or else address somewhere the reality that their guidance is impossible to follow. Pediatricians around here just aren’t worried about vaccinating babies for COVID. In your view, is this lack of concern justifiable, and if so, why doesn’t the CDC update its guidance?
COVID is definitely not done, and if the last two weeks here are any indication, Midwest numbers should be climbing rapidly, soon. My 98 yr old father-in-law was one of the 25 and counting out of 57 residents of his skilled nursing facility to come down with it, but thanks to 80+% uptake of the latest booster and thanks also to Paxlovid, so far none are seriously ill. Also, as a father of three grown daughters, I'm a big fan of Disney princess movies - our daughters and granddaughters are getting enough negative messaging from our society about what they can or can't do and whom they can be or not be, and Disney princesses give them a better message that they can be more!
Also if you haven't watched The Emperor's New Groove, you are missing out on one of the few madcap comedies ever animated. No crying, just laughing, even though David Spade does learn a lesson. Completely zany, absurdist, slapstick. A++
Also if you have Nintendo nostalgia, the recent Super Mario Bros movie is hilarious.
Why would you normally not care which virus it was? I thought it would be useful to know whether or not it's covid, in order to inform the timing of future vaccine boosters for your daughter and anyone else in the family who might catch it. Thanks. Hope your daughter feels better soon!
My 2 and 5 year old granddaughters are *obsessed* with Encanto. The little one was the cutest Luisa ever ("I'm the strong one.") for Halloween, and "we don't talk about...(whatever)" has become part of the family lexicon.
I suppose because whooping cough was never a big part of my (personal)) world, once my kids were grown, I totally forgot that it was included in what we call the "tetanus shot." I work in healthcare, for Pete's sake. I'm sure there are loads of adults who do not realize there are important reasons to stay up to date on a tetanus shot (caring for the kids around you, for one!), and I've *never* had a doctor mention whooping cough when asking about a tetanus shot.
Thank you so much, Dr. Jetelina! One question: I'm curious about your thoughts on risks of long covid. I've noticed that in your (and other epi) posts that track viral activity, issues of risk assessment, testing, masking, etc. are focused on acute illness, rather than risk of long covid. Given the volumes of research on damage to vascular system and other organs regardless of vaccination status and severity of acute illness, how can we think about using these data to help make risk assessments individually for the short term and long term? Thank you again!
Encanto is so good! Curious if you/others in your family took Tamiflu when your daughter was positive as a preventive measure? I feel like I’ve read mixed messages on that.
I would love to see you, as a trusted voice in this community, take Covid a bit more seriously. Honestly, it feels like you gave up or caved to the Covid deniers. What about the risk of long covid with multiple exposures? What about the increased risk of organ damage and heart attacks? In one recent study up to 39% of participants had symptoms that could be attributed to long covid. Look at excess deaths… they are unexplainable without covid.
What percent risk is worth it to possibly end up permanently disabled? Covid is airborne… do we just magically forget that?
Thank you - this is timely as many folks get ready to travel.
I'm hoping your recent experience with Tamiflu prompts a deep dive post on the use of antivirals in kids.
While existing evidence suggests that starting treatment within the first 2 days may reduce illness duration by one day, the clinical significance of this benefit remains debated.
Anecdotally, in pediatrics, there's a lack of consensus on the utility of Tamiflu. And there is a gap between “academic” recommendations and doctor practice patterns. Recent health media coverage has highlighted the supposed "under-use" of Tamiflu in children. But there is continued clinician conversation about whether this represents true underuse or should be interpreted as a feedback signal that patients aren’t seeing beneficial effects.
Many think Tamiflu may shorten the recovery period rather than the days of severe symptoms, making it less beneficial. And there are GI effects that create more problems. There's also a disconnect or skepticism when seeing the incredibly prevalent advertising for Tamiflu, a medication that even at best, helps a little. What other medication results in headlines such as “Pediatrics largely under-use X . . .” without mentioning the marginal benefits?
We continue to watch for better analyses and more or better data about best use of Tamiflu. Especially from a trusted source! (hint, hint).
I so appreciate your updates and the continuing work you do to keep us informed. I'm going to be getting out my mask and wearing until things quiet down next year.
YLE: Please tell me where I can get the Encanto vaccine? I have an age-risk so I need to get the latest and greatest preventive. (;>) Sorry, I couldn't resist. Get well soon, little Jetelina) MD
Way back when, your newsletter stood out to me as a source of clear and objective information. So thank you. I just went back to read your article from last year on Norovirus. I was so sick and weak from it, I couldn’t get up off the bathroom floor. We ended up calling an ambulance. Of course, because of triage, I was never seen after an initial intake. Over 6 hours or so of waiting in the ER, I started to feel slightly better. My husband just drove me home. It took me more than 2 days to recover. For me, it was almost worse than covid--which I got for the first time this past September, several weeks after getting the latest vaccine in August for a trip we took to Greece in September. I can only assume the vaccine prevented it from being worse than it was-and it was pretty bad for a few days.
Many, many thanks, as always, for the great info and pro tips. Good luck with all those Disney princesses movies, and I hope your little one is soon on the mend!
I read and subscribe to your newsletter. I have followed you since the heart of the SarsCov2 pandemic and am beyond grateful for your hard work and advocacy. Thank you for what you do.
I have a question I'm hoping you'd be willing to chew on, coming from a place of respect, appreciation, and genuine pleading for myself and my community:
Why don't you mask year-round in public spaces? Like grocery stores, doctors' offices, drugstores, transportation, etc?
A large chunk of people are naturally immune compromised. Or on immune suppression. Or have autoimmune conditions. Etc. As an epidemiologist, you are intimately aware of how one-way masking of the vulnerable individual can only go so far. Especially in an abysmal air filtration, testing, and infectious disease conscious landscape like the one we exist in currently.
My community and I have just as much of a right to exist in public spaces as those with more health privilege. The actions of nearly everyone unmasked just tells us that our furthering disability and death is not important enough. The general public, even our own friends and family, would rather us absorb that harm than take accountability for their personal role in the transmission environment they create. People would rather let us die than put a mask on.
We are put not only at physical harm, but at emotional harm. These actions tell us that we are second-class. Expendables. And I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the cumulative impacts of this over our lifetimes just sets us up for more suffering.
Why not become part of the solution and safety net for us? It is one of the easiest and most effective ways of helping lower infectious disease transmission of all kinds.
Your public clout is vital to our visibility and protection. If someone like you takes up this cause, it gains more legitimacy and traction. A cause, however legitimate, can only championed so far by the people it most impacts. Those of privilege and the larger community must pick it up if we are to matter. You are our bridge.
Would you be willing to set the trend and be an ally to a forgotten community?
I hope Dr. Jetelina takes the time to read and respond to this thoughtful question. Vulnerable people often don't have a choice about going to in-person medical visits, on airplanes, trains, grocery stores etc. so it seems unfair for less vulnerable people to unnecessarily expose them.
Thank you… this is exactly my question as well. We can’t even get doctors to mask! It’s like when that doctor first recommended handwashing and was bullied out of practice. Why is there such a disconnect? Covid is airborne…even if not for others people should have an interest in protecting themselves from possibly lifelong damage and disability.
I went through the 5 stages of grief in the past 3 years over society collectively deciding they were done with masking, but my main consolation is that one-way N95s are indeed remarkably effective. I've worn them in many crowded situations (planes, transport, concerts), and while in contact with sick individuals, and have never got sick afterwards, to this day. That said, if I can avoid super-crowded places during peak months, I do so, even if it means rescheduling doctor appointments.
Myself and countless others i know have not been so lucky despite constant vigilance. I'm really glad you've managed! *high fives* And heck yes to still masking *fist bump*
I wish you and your community health and long life. I am currently healthy but have close family and friends who are immunocompromised. I fervently hope my loved ones do not see my failure to mask in public as indifference to whether they live or die!! I am curious how Dr. Jetelina replies, but speaking only for myself: I have felt absolved of the obligation to mask because I’ve been under the impression that wearing an N-95 mask does, in fact, give the wearer good protection? Is this not the case?
Indirectly it can really feel that way if we're all operating under the same data points. But I know many of us are operating with different information. I appreciate your love and care and willingness to understand. Most don't have that. The goal is for people to care like you do, even if information hasn't been quite as disseminated as it should be to everyone at this point. An Unfortunate failure of the public health authorities in America, sprinkled with a dose of everyday devaluing of disabled, elderly, and marginalized lives. Culminates in such an awful and harmful fever pitch of modern day eugenics and makes me so devastated.
Too little spoons for too much detail, but while n95 when worn by anyone is an excellent tool to fend off infectious disease, one-way masking by the vulnerable in a sea of unmasked vectors of transmission still only goes so far. And the greatest method for decreasing transmission is masking source.
An additional point I'd like to gently offer, especially since you are clearly in good faith, is that requiring the vulnerable to absorb the risks created by the majority not taking responsibility for the infectious disease environment they're creating... it's pretty crappy behavior when you think about it, right? Because it's not inconsequential in impact. It's really harmful and dangerous for people. And then instead of taking accountability for the environment created by not doing their part to reduce transmission of disease, putting the onus on vulnerable people to absorb that impact? It just doesn't sit right to me, even if I weren't part of that community. Does that make sense?
Yes, it does make sense, absolutely. I hope public health evolves - and quickly - to prioritize the lives of the most vulnerable among us and reduce disease transmission through more research, better education, increased empathy, and higher moral standards. I struggle with permanent public masking being a solution, though selfish luck surely skews my perspective on this. I have no problem wearing a mask in certain situations (during high transmission, or in the NICU, etc.) yet I can't help feeling that we lose *something* if we stop seeing each other's faces. But I cannot put my finger on a rational level of deadly disease transmission, above which we all universally mask and below which we don't. Of course if I knew that wearing a mask would prevent another person catching a dangerous disease, I would! It's the uncertainty of it, the game of risk, that makes it so hard, I think. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you how socially difficult it can be to be the ONLY one masking.
Thank you very much for your reply and your honesty. My own response is certainly insufficient, perhaps even hurtful. Stay healthy this season, and I will keep all my masks, though knowing when to wear them will remain a personal struggle.
To be honest, it sounds like you haven't adopted masking even as much of a partial solution if you're speaking about having felt absolved from it. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I want to clarify - permanency & perfection wasn't what I was requesting in terms of masking. But with the way infectious disease - specifically covid - is trending still, being considerate of year-round spread is vital. And we know respiratory season is absolutely not the only time that covid surges during the year. Not only that, a decent enough amount of reputable experts, such as the WHO, don't categorize us as being out of a pandemic yet.
A quote from Maria Van Kerkhove, interim director of the WHO’s Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, as of March 2024: "COVID’s not in the news every day, but it’s still a global health risk. If we look at wastewater estimates, the actual circulation [of SARS-CoV-2] is somewhere between two and 20 times higher than what’s actually being reported by countries. The virus is rampant. We’re still in a pandemic. There’s a lot of complacency at the individual level, and more concerning to me is that at the government level."
I can empathize with feeling the loss of the "something." I don't even get the luxury of seeing my family and friends' faces regularly anymore because nearly noone in society is taking accountability for their role in transmission.
Beyond that, my access to communication as a deaf person (eg lip reading and facial expression) has been severely compromised, unless I want to expose myself to further disability. It all sucks and impacts every single aspect of my life.
If everyone did a little more of their part, people like myself wouldn't have to absorb those kinds of impacts.
At the very least I hope you consider asking YOUR vulnerable family and friends what THEY feel about it. We're not a monolith, they'll have their own feelings. But it's important if you're making decisions directly impacting their welfare, to actually ask them their thoughts.
I will say from experience that the "something" that's been most impactful for me to have lost in all of this - even over hearing and comprehending the world around me - is not the facial component. It’s that even the most well meaning like yourself will still find that personal accountability to perpetuated collective harm is the line for your love. That's one of the most devastating losses I've ever experienced, and I hope you never have to know what it feels like. I do realize your hesitation is likely from lack of full comprehension of everything. But it doesn't quite change that feeling when we've had nearly 5 years of data and time to adjust and learn.
An aside, living or dying isn't quite the fear for most of us. Further disability on top of existing quality of life from significant disability is the concern. Many of us are already bedbound, in medical debt, being shuffled from doctor to doctor, receiving caregiving for basic functioning, etc. Death is not the worry, it's the remaining living years in even more dire straits. I know enough people where a swift covid death would be a relief.
I am very sorry for all your losses. I did indeed ask my most immunocompromised loved ones their thoughts, upon reading your original comment - and thank you for prompting that convo, and also for illuminating for me with your latest reply the stress and fear that still weigh on so many. I actually hadn't understood that your primary concern remains COVID - I assumed your original question for Dr. Jetelina was more about all manner of circulating viruses (including but not limited to COVID) which are all less risky for healthy people and potentially deadly for immunocompromised people. Such is indeed the spreading sense of COVID complacency. For what it's worth, my family seems more resigned to the general public unmasking - but I do not fault you at all for bravely raising and pressing your objections and educating others on the risks we expose the vulnerable to.
I would be curious - and perhaps YLE could do a post on this - how public masking norms in Asia affect the rates of respiratory illnesses there. If I understand correctly, not having been myself, it is more expected that healthy people mask in public. Are vulnerable populations better able to avoid infection there, as a result, or is that impossible to tease out?
It occurred to me: perhaps I could carry a mask and put it on if I see anyone else with a mask on, with the assumption being that if someone is not wearing a mask, then they are comfortable with me not wearing one. I would be curious to know what you think of this approach. And thank you once again for your thoughtful, patient, and gentle responses.
What I think is I that you're a well meaning but imperfect ally. And that it's horrifying that THIS conversation is one of the most positive and considerate conversations I've had with even close family surrounding infectious disease and the importance of caring for our impact on vulnerable humans.
What I think is that my new year's resolution is to not beg and plead anymore for people to value my life and my community's life enough.
And that's where my role in this conversation will end.
Thank you for these important updates! Ob/Gyn here. FYI any adult around a neonate should have an updated Tdap to protect newborn from exposure.
(I remember when my tetanus is due based on granddaughters’s birthdate)
we also stress importance of RSV vax to pregnant women in 3rd trimester as immunity crosses placenta and has some protection for newborn as there’s no vax for them.
This is when I "relearned" that my tetanus shot was not just a tetanus shot...my daughter required me to make sure mine was updated before the birth of her kids. I wish more doctors like you stressed this to adults...it is not all about us!!
Wife and I also just commented on this, as we just got our booster -but had never been told by our PCP that we needed to update our protection every 10 years!
Thank you so much for these updates and information - you add a valuable epidemiology perspective to this molecular virologist's knowledge base. One small question - was the statement that norovirus "doesn’t have a stable coating called a capsid" correct? My understanding as that its naked capsid is what made it to hard to kill. Sorry for being a virus nerd - just want to make sure I didn't miss something. Keep up the awesome work!
Gosh dang it, will change it from “capsid” to “membrane”. Thanks so much for catching that!
Change it from "doesn't have a capsid" to "has a capsid?
I would love your perspective on why the COVID vaccine is next to impossible to find for babies right now, here in New Jersey. I wish the CDC would either update its guidance to recommend the vaccine for children once they are old enough to get the shot at a pharmacy, or else address somewhere the reality that their guidance is impossible to follow. Pediatricians around here just aren’t worried about vaccinating babies for COVID. In your view, is this lack of concern justifiable, and if so, why doesn’t the CDC update its guidance?
Have you checked with your local health department? We provide a lot of the baby and young child Covid vaccinations in my area.
COVID is definitely not done, and if the last two weeks here are any indication, Midwest numbers should be climbing rapidly, soon. My 98 yr old father-in-law was one of the 25 and counting out of 57 residents of his skilled nursing facility to come down with it, but thanks to 80+% uptake of the latest booster and thanks also to Paxlovid, so far none are seriously ill. Also, as a father of three grown daughters, I'm a big fan of Disney princess movies - our daughters and granddaughters are getting enough negative messaging from our society about what they can or can't do and whom they can be or not be, and Disney princesses give them a better message that they can be more!
Also if you haven't watched The Emperor's New Groove, you are missing out on one of the few madcap comedies ever animated. No crying, just laughing, even though David Spade does learn a lesson. Completely zany, absurdist, slapstick. A++
Also if you have Nintendo nostalgia, the recent Super Mario Bros movie is hilarious.
Why would you normally not care which virus it was? I thought it would be useful to know whether or not it's covid, in order to inform the timing of future vaccine boosters for your daughter and anyone else in the family who might catch it. Thanks. Hope your daughter feels better soon!
My 2 and 5 year old granddaughters are *obsessed* with Encanto. The little one was the cutest Luisa ever ("I'm the strong one.") for Halloween, and "we don't talk about...(whatever)" has become part of the family lexicon.
I suppose because whooping cough was never a big part of my (personal)) world, once my kids were grown, I totally forgot that it was included in what we call the "tetanus shot." I work in healthcare, for Pete's sake. I'm sure there are loads of adults who do not realize there are important reasons to stay up to date on a tetanus shot (caring for the kids around you, for one!), and I've *never* had a doctor mention whooping cough when asking about a tetanus shot.
Thank you so much, Dr. Jetelina! One question: I'm curious about your thoughts on risks of long covid. I've noticed that in your (and other epi) posts that track viral activity, issues of risk assessment, testing, masking, etc. are focused on acute illness, rather than risk of long covid. Given the volumes of research on damage to vascular system and other organs regardless of vaccination status and severity of acute illness, how can we think about using these data to help make risk assessments individually for the short term and long term? Thank you again!
Encanto is so good! Curious if you/others in your family took Tamiflu when your daughter was positive as a preventive measure? I feel like I’ve read mixed messages on that.
We considered it, but didn’t. It can be super nasty on the stomach, and figured we had enough going on as parents to two little ones.
I would love to see you, as a trusted voice in this community, take Covid a bit more seriously. Honestly, it feels like you gave up or caved to the Covid deniers. What about the risk of long covid with multiple exposures? What about the increased risk of organ damage and heart attacks? In one recent study up to 39% of participants had symptoms that could be attributed to long covid. Look at excess deaths… they are unexplainable without covid.
What percent risk is worth it to possibly end up permanently disabled? Covid is airborne… do we just magically forget that?
Thank you - this is timely as many folks get ready to travel.
I'm hoping your recent experience with Tamiflu prompts a deep dive post on the use of antivirals in kids.
While existing evidence suggests that starting treatment within the first 2 days may reduce illness duration by one day, the clinical significance of this benefit remains debated.
Anecdotally, in pediatrics, there's a lack of consensus on the utility of Tamiflu. And there is a gap between “academic” recommendations and doctor practice patterns. Recent health media coverage has highlighted the supposed "under-use" of Tamiflu in children. But there is continued clinician conversation about whether this represents true underuse or should be interpreted as a feedback signal that patients aren’t seeing beneficial effects.
Many think Tamiflu may shorten the recovery period rather than the days of severe symptoms, making it less beneficial. And there are GI effects that create more problems. There's also a disconnect or skepticism when seeing the incredibly prevalent advertising for Tamiflu, a medication that even at best, helps a little. What other medication results in headlines such as “Pediatrics largely under-use X . . .” without mentioning the marginal benefits?
We continue to watch for better analyses and more or better data about best use of Tamiflu. Especially from a trusted source! (hint, hint).
I so appreciate your updates and the continuing work you do to keep us informed. I'm going to be getting out my mask and wearing until things quiet down next year.
Hope your little princess is feeling better soon.
YLE: Please tell me where I can get the Encanto vaccine? I have an age-risk so I need to get the latest and greatest preventive. (;>) Sorry, I couldn't resist. Get well soon, little Jetelina) MD
Way back when, your newsletter stood out to me as a source of clear and objective information. So thank you. I just went back to read your article from last year on Norovirus. I was so sick and weak from it, I couldn’t get up off the bathroom floor. We ended up calling an ambulance. Of course, because of triage, I was never seen after an initial intake. Over 6 hours or so of waiting in the ER, I started to feel slightly better. My husband just drove me home. It took me more than 2 days to recover. For me, it was almost worse than covid--which I got for the first time this past September, several weeks after getting the latest vaccine in August for a trip we took to Greece in September. I can only assume the vaccine prevented it from being worse than it was-and it was pretty bad for a few days.
Many, many thanks, as always, for the great info and pro tips. Good luck with all those Disney princesses movies, and I hope your little one is soon on the mend!