The Perfect Enemy | Mass. doctor on COVID and flu season

Mass. doctor on COVID and flu season

MARIA: WITH THE TEMPERATURE DROPPING, PEOPLE ARE HOPING THAT COLD AND FLU SEASON ISN’T TOO BAD. OF COURSE, COVID IS STILL IN OUR MIDST. ED: HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IS DR. TODD OTHERING, FAMILIAR FACE HERE. DIRECTOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT SOUTH SHORE HEALTH. GREAT TO SEE YOU. LET’S START WITH A QUESTION WE HAVE GOTTEN SEVERAL TIMES AND HAVE ADDRESSED IT, BUT IT IS WORTH GOING OVER AGAIN. IF YOU TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID, SHOULD YOU WAIT BEFORE YOU GET THE NEW OMICRON BOOSTER? DR. ELLERIN: THIS IS IMPORTANT. WHAT THE CDC IS SAYING RIGHT NOW, THE DETAILS IS THAT THEY SAY YOU CAN GET IT ANYTIME AFTER YOU ARE INFECTED AND IT RESULTS YOUR INFECTION. BUT THEN THEY SAY IT MAY BE BEST TO WAIT THREE MONTHS. THAT IS A GOOD IDEA. AGAIN, WE DON’T KNOW THE EXACT TIMING. I THINK THE SWEET SPOT IS PROBABLY SOMETIME WITHIN THREE TO SIX MONTHS AFTER INFECTION OR AFTER THE LAST BOOSTER. WHY? BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT TO DELIVER ANTIBODIES ON TOP OF ANTIBODIES, WHICH YOU GET IF YOU GET INFECTED OR IF YOU GET A BOOSTER. THE IMMUNE SYSTEM JUST RESPONDS BETTER WHEN YOU DELAY IT A LITTLE BIT, SO I WOULD WAIT AT LEAST THREE MONTHS. MARIA: WE HAVE TALKED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS ABOUT THE VIRUSES OUT THERE RIGHT NOW, COVID, FLU. WHEN IT COMES TO TESTING, WHAT IS THE BEST RULE OF THUMB? SHOULD YOU AUTOMATICALLY BE GRABBING THAT COVID TEST IF YOU% EXHIBIT ANY SYMPTOMS AT ALL? DR. ELLERIN: WE ARE GETTING INTO THAT RESPIRATORY VIRAL TIME OF YEAR, AND IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE DON’T JUST SORT OF IGNORE OUR SYMPTOMS. IF YOU HAVE RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS, IT MAKES SENSE TO DO THE TESTING THAT WE HAVE, THE RAPID TESTING. IF YOU HAVE A NEGATIVE ONE BUT YOU ARE REALLY SYMPTOMATIC, YOU WANT TO REPEAT IT. IF YOU HAVE TWO NEGATIVE TESTS OVER A PERIOD OF A FEW DAYS, THAT IS GOOD EVIDENCE THAT YOU DON’T HAVE COVID, BUT REMEMBER, THERE ARE OTHER RESPIRATORY VERSES AS WELL. YOU DON’T WANT TO FORGET ABOUT INFLUENZA. IT’S IMPORTANT TO DO THE TESTING IF YOU ARE VULNERABLE. WHY? BECAUSE IF YOU GET A POSITIVE COVID RESULT, WE WILL GIVE YOU PAXLOVID. AND IF YOU HAVE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE A RESULT, WE WILL GIVE YOU TAMIFLU. THAT IMPORTANT FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE VULNERABLE. . IT IS GOOD IF YOU’RE GOING TO GO TO SCHOOL, IT’S IMPORTANT TO TEST, WE DON’T WANT TO BRING COVID OR INFLUENZA TO OUR SCHOOLS OR WORKING ENVIRONMENTS. ED: KNOWLEDGE IS KEY, DR. T. A FAIR NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE BACK IN THE OFFICE IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD, WHATEVER SHAPE THAT IS. ASIDE FROM STAYING HOME WHEN SICK, WHAT IS YOUR BEST ADVICE FOR KEEPING EVERYONE HEALTHY AND RESPECTING THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE STILL MORE CONCERNED THAN OTHERS ABOUT COVID? DR. ELLERIN: I WILL GIVE YOU AN ACRONYM HERE, IT IS ON THE SCREEN, E OF EAST. B STANDS FOR BOOST. NOT ONLY THE COVID, BUT THE INFLUENZA TO START. VACCINATING IS POWER. I DON’T BELIEVE WE WILL HAVE A CATEGORY 5 COVID HURRICANE, BUT I DO BELIEVE WE WILL SEE A COVID STORM THIS WINTER. THE E STANDS FOR EXIT WHEN SICK. IF YOU ARE SYMPTOMATIC, TWO TO SCHOOL. FEVER, CHILLS, COUGHING, STAY HOME. THE A STANDS FOR “AVOID CROWDS IN CLOSE SPACES,” ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE VULNERABLE. WE KNOW THAT IS IMPORTANT. COVID SPREADS LIKE WILDFIRE IN THE WINTER WHEN OUR WINDOWS ARE CLOSED AND IN ENCLOSED SPACES, AND I THINK THAT IS COMMON SENSE, BUT IMPORTANT. THE S STANDS FOR “SIZE OF YOUR RISK OF SEVERE DISEASE.” THAT CORRELATES TO MASKING. PEOPLE WONDER HOW, OPPRESSIVE SHOULD I BE WITH MASKING? IF YOU WANT TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE, WE KNOW THAT THE MORE YOU MASK THIS WINTER, THE LESS LIKELY WILL GOT COVID OR THE FLU OR THAT YOU WILL GET A RESPIRATORY VIRUS THAT MAY LEAD YOU TO BE HOSPITALIZED. AND LASTLY, THE T IS “TEST AND TREAT.” IT IS IMPORTANT TO TEST IF YOU ARE SYMPTOMATIC. IF YOU ARE POSITIVE FOR THE FLU OR COVID, YOU WANT TO STAY HOME. IF YOU ARE HIGH RISK, YOU WANT TO TREAT WITH PAXLOVID OR WITH MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES AS WELL. ED: BEAST. WE WILL KEEP THAT IN FRONT OF OUR MIND. DR. ELLERIN: DR. ELLERIN: AND THANK YOU FOR THAT HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIDEO. MARIA: GLAD YOU GOT IT. [LAUGHTER] HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DR., BE WELL! TO OUR VIEWERS, IF YOU H

Mass. doctor on COVID and flu season

Dr. Todd Ellerin of South Shore Health on COVID as we enter flu season.