This reflects a national trend: About 1.5% of emergency room visits nationwide last week were due to COVID-19 infections, down from more than 2% earlier this month.
“We are seeing signs of a downward trend in COVID-19 in our offices,” said Dr. Clyde Watkins, chief medical officer for Village Medical Georgia. “We are seeing a significant decrease in cases that we are treating or monitoring compared to August.”
Dr. John E. Delzell Jr., vice president of medical education for Northeast Georgia Health System, said the summer COVID outbreak has been “definitely trending downward” over the past week, with COVID patient volumes declining not only in hospitals but also in the system’s clinics and urgent care clinics.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
With so few COVID tests currently being reported to the CDC, levels of virus released into sewage are one of the best ways to track real-time spread within communities. Georgia’s level of virus activity in sewage is “moderate,” the lowest it has been since early July.
The latest COVID vaccines, approved last month, are designed to more effectively target currently circulating strains of the virus and are expected to be effective against new strains that could cause winter epidemics. The CDC recommends everyone 6 months of age or older get the latest vaccination. But the agency says the COVID vaccine is especially important for those at highest risk for severe illness, such as older adults and those with chronic medical conditions.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Watkins, who practices at Village Medical’s Decatur and Lithonia clinics, said he encourages all of his patients, especially those with chronic conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, to get up to date on the COVID vaccination.
“And for my younger patients, the COVID vaccine essentially reduces the number of days they miss work,” he said.
Free COVID testing is resuming, but the federal program has not yet resumed. Starting later this month, U.S. households will be able to order up to four at-home COVID tests on COVIDTests.gov, which can detect current strains of the virus.
COVID is now much less likely to cause severe illness because of widespread immunity from infection, a vaccine, or both, and more treatment options. However, COVID can still cause severe illness and death.
But in general, doctors are seeing a gradual decline in the severity of symptoms.
Delzell said patients who are hospitalized with COVID-19 often have chronic conditions that require hospitalization and who also happen to have COVID-19.
COVID is not considered a seasonal virus like influenza, but a seasonal pattern has emerged over the past four years. Summer outbreaks typically begin around June and peak in late July or early August. COVID cases tend to start to increase again around early November and continue to rise through the end of the year.
Watkins said the coming winter wave is all the more reason to get the latest vaccine now.
“COVID is still a very serious disease, especially if you’re not vaccinated or have chronic medical conditions. Boosting your immunity when we know the weather changes will increase COVID cases (helps everyone be prepared). We need to be prepared and be prepared not only for the COVID vaccine, but also for the flu and RSV,” Watkins said.
Which vaccines should I get and when?
COVID Vaccine: The CDC recommends that everyone age 6 months and older get the COVID vaccine, which has been updated this year, to help prevent severe outcomes from COVID. The CDC says getting vaccinated is especially important for those at highest risk for severe illness, such as older adults and those with chronic medical conditions.
Although new variants keep emerging, the current prescription still offers protection – and is a better fit than the one introduced last year, which targeted older variants.
People who have recently had COVID-19 can postpone getting vaccinated for three months.
Flu vaccine: Everyone over 6 months of age should get a flu shot. Ideally, you should get it by the end of October, but later is better than never. Seasonal flu vaccines are updated each year to match the type of virus that’s likely to be most common the following season. Even if there’s not an exact match, the shot can still prevent serious illness.
Respiratory syncytial virus vaccine: In its recently updated RSV guidelines, the CDC recommends vaccination for all adults 75 years of age and older, and for people 60 years of age and older who are at high risk for the disease, including people with chronic medical conditions and nursing home residents.
The RSV vaccine is no longer an annual vaccine, meaning that the CDC only recommends that older adults receive a single dose of the RSV vaccine, rather than every season.
The CDC recommends that all babies be protected against severe RSV by one of two vaccination options: maternal RSV vaccine given to the mother during pregnancy, or RSV antibody given to the baby. Most babies do not need both.
The CDC also recommends giving nirsevimab, an injectable monoclonal antibody to prevent severe RSV infection, to a small group of infants age 8 to 19 months who are at high risk for severe RSV infection, including those born prematurely and those with chronic lung disease.
You can get more than one vaccine at a time. According to the CDC, it is safe to get the COVID vaccine and the flu vaccine at the same time, and it may be more convenient to do so. You can also get the COVID, flu, and RSV vaccines at the same time, according to the CDS.
