NH epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan answers COVID-19 questions
NH epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan answers COVID-19 questions – Part 1
Updated: 6:41 PM EDT Jul 18, 2022
OF ANY STORMS, COMING UP. MARISSA: THANK YOU. HEALTH OFFICIALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE SEEING AN INCREASE OF COVID CASES IN HOSPITALIZATIONS. STEVE: AND NOW WITH CONCERNS OF ANOTHER VARIANT, MANY OF YOU AT HOME HAVE QUESTIONS. STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST DR. BENJAMIN CHAN JOINS US NOW. GOOD EVENING, DR. CHAN. DR. CHAN: HAPPY TO BE HERE. MARISSA: WHAT’S THE CURRENT STATUS OF COVID IN NEW HAMPSHIRE? PARTS OF THE COUNTRY ARE SEEING INCREASES IN HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS. IS THAT HAPPENING HERE? DR. CHAN: IT IS A GREAT QUESTION. AS WE KNOW THAT COVID-19 WILL CONTINUE TO CIRCULATE, WE KNOW A LOT OF THE TESTING BEING DONE RIGHT NOW IS THROUGH AT HOME TESTING. IT MEANS OUR NUMBERS, THE NUMBER OF NEW INFECTIONS WE REPORT IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE UNRELIABLE. FOR THAT REASON WE ARE PAYING MORE AND MORE ATTENTION TO WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS DUE TO COVID-19. IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, WE ARE HOLDING STEADY. THERE HAVE BEEN SOME UPS AND DOWNS SINCE THE OMICRON SURGE IN THE WINTER, AROUND APRIL OR MAY, THE NUMBER OF HOSPITALIZATIONS WENT UP. THEY HAVE SINCE COME DOWN AND HAVE STARTED TO PLATEAU. SIMILAR PATTERN WITH THE NUMBER OF DEATHS. COVID-19 IS STILL OUT THERE, THERE ARE STILL RISKS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEE PEOPLE HOSPITALIZED AND DYING FROM COVID-19, BUT BECAUSE OF VACCINES AND IMMUNITY IN THE POPULATION, WE ARE HOLDING STEADY AND KEEPING HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS AT A LOWER LEVEL COMPARED TO WHAT WE’VE SEEN AT OTHER POINTS DURING THE PANDEMIC. MARISSA: OUR NEXT QUESTION IS NEW VARIANTS. HOW CONCERNED SHOULD WE BE RIGHT NOW WITH THE NEW VARIANTS THAT ARE SPREADING? DR. CHAN: WE HAVE SEEN THROUGHOUT THE LAST 2.5 YEARS THIS IS A VIRUS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO MUTATE AND UNDERGO GENETIC CHANGES AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEE VARIANTS EMERGE, VARIANTS OF CONCERN EMERGE. THESE VARIANTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED TO BE MORE INFECTIOUS AND MORE EASILY SPREAD AND MORE LIKELY TO ESCAPE OR EVADE SOMEONE’S IMMUNITY OR PROTECTION. WE CONTINUE TO SEE THAT, PARTICULARLY WITH THE NEWEST VARIANT OF CONCERN INCREASING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND NATIONALLY, WHICH IS BA.5. SIMILAR TO WHAT IS BEING SEEN AT A NATIONAL LEVEL, THIS IS ANOTHER VARIANT COMING OUR WAY. IT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE MORE EASILY SPREAD, MORE INFECTIOUS, AND FOR THAT REASON, THERE IS A MOVE AT A NATIONAL LEVEL TO UPDATE OUR COVID-19 VACCINES TO BETTER COVER THIS AND OTHER EMERGING VARIANTS IN THE FUTURE AND WE MAY POTENTIALLY SEE THOSE UPDATED COVID-19 VACCINE BOOSTERS AS EARLY AS THIS FALL OR THE END OF THIS YEAR. MARISSA: OUR NEXT QUESTION FROM MARTIN, ASKING WHICH VARIANTS OF COVID DO THE CURRENT HOME KITS TEST FOR? DR. CHAN: THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION IS MONITORING, AND THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TESTS, LABORATORY PCR TESTS, AND THE AT-HOME ANTIGEN TESTS ARE EXPECTED TO PICK UP THE NEW EMERGING VARIANTS. WE KNOW AT-HOME TESTS OR SELF TESTS TEND TO BE LESS ACCURATE THAN SOME OF THE LABORATORY-BASED PCR TESTS. IF SOMEONE USES AN AT-HOME TEST, MAYBE THEY ARE VERY EARLY IN THE ONSET OF SOME, IF THEY — ONSET OF SYMPTOMS, IF THEY TEST NEGATIVE, IT IS RECOMMENDED YOU TEST AGAIN A DAY OR SO LATER WITH ANOTHER ANTIGEN TEST. SOMEONE CAN INITIALLY TEST NEGATIVE WITH AN ANTIGEN TEST AND A DAY OR TWO LATER, IT COMES BACK POSITIVE. THEY WILL STILL DETECT THE NEW VARIANTS, BUT THERE MAY BE IN NEED TO RETEST A DAY OR TWO LATER. MARISSA: THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE HAVE MUCH MORE TO GET TO THIS HALF-HOUR, MORE QUESTIONS
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NH epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan answers COVID-19 questions – Part 1
Updated: 6:41 PM EDT Jul 18, 2022
Dr. Benjamin Chan, the New Hampshire state epidemiologist, answers viewer questions about the current status of COVID-19 in New Hampshire, how concerning the new variants are and whether home test kits still work to detect the emerging variants.
Dr. Benjamin Chan, the New Hampshire state epidemiologist, answers viewer questions about the current status of COVID-19 in New Hampshire, how concerning the new variants are and whether home test kits still work to detect the emerging variants.
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