It’s nice to give good news. First of all, the new vaccines are better than the old ones. Of course, if someone is not predisposed to take vaccines, this will fall on deaf ears. This is the abstract of a study published in today’s New England Journal of Medicine. It shows that the Moderna bivalent covid vaccine produces higher neutralizing antibodies (these are the virus killing ones for which no commercial test is available) in immunized individuals than the previous booster. Time will tell what impact that has on serious and mild infections, but previous studies have shown that they were effective in reducing them.
A Bivalent Omicron-Containing Booster Vaccine against Covid-19
List of authors.
Houston’s COVID wastewater levels drop to lowest mark in 6 months, putting BA.5 wave in rear view
Texas Medical Center data published Tuesday shows the viral load in the wastewater is 71 percent of what was detected in July 2020.
1of3Houston Health Dept., employees Muhammad Farhad, left, and Kendra Davis prepare to put back the sampler after collecting water samples on Wednesday, July 20, 2022 in Houston.Elizabeth Conley/Staff photographer
The COVID-19 viral load in Houston’s wastewater has sunk to its lowest point in six months as the city puts the latest wave, driven by the highly contagious omicron subvariant BA.5, in the rear view.
The wastewater levels are 71 percent of what the Houston Health Department detected during the July 2020 wave, which the city uses as a benchmark, according to Texas Medical Center data published Tuesday. The viral load was nearly 900 percent of the baseline in July. The COVID hospitalization rate and positivity rate also continue to decline steadily.
Harris County last week dropped its COVID community level from “medium” to “low,” which recommends staying up to date on vaccinations and testing if you have symptoms. Scientists are looking to other countries for signs of what comes next.
“Our history has typically been a winter surge,” said Dr. Luis Ostrosky, chief of infectious diseases with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “So let’s enjoy it while we can.”
Dr. James McDeavitt, executive vice president and dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine, notes that the U.S. is still seeing an average of 300 to 400 COVID deaths per day.
“This virus will be a major public health issue for months or even years to come,” he said.
Several new omicron off-shoots have been detected in the United Kingdom, India, Singapore, Denmark and Australia, according to the journal Nature. BA.5 continues to dominate cases in the United States, though one subvariant, BA.4.6, has gained some traction and now makes up roughly 12 percent of cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ostrosky and McDeavitt urged people to get their updated booster shots, which better target omicron variants.
Houston doctors, meanwhile, see a more pressing concern. Flu season, which usually ramps up in October before peaking from December through February, is unusually busy for this time of year. The CDC’s weekly influenza report, which measures doctor visits for respiratory illnesses, shows Texas has a “high” activity level – the only state with that distinction. Washington D.C. is also at a high level.
Houston Methodist’s flu tracker shows cases of Influenza A are ramping up. Rhinovirus and enterovirus, among the most common viruses typically associated with upper respiratory tract infections, are circulating at high levels.
SO, GET A BIVALENT COVID 19 BOOSTER AND A FLU VACCINE ASAP.
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