General Wellness

Covid cases in the US remain low, but at a plateau. That may sound good, but more than 400 people a day continue to die from Covid and it remains the 4th leading cause of death in the US. 

The story is quite different in other parts of the world, particularly Singapore and most of Europe, where numbers are on the rise. 54 countries followed by the WHO (World Health Organization) reported continued rises in Covid case numbers and 14 have had at least 20% rise in the last 2 weeks. 2 European countries in particular, France and now Germany, have serious spikes. In Germany, there is a clear relationship between new cases and Octoberfest celebrations. My youngest son is studying rocket science in college. His homework looks like something from Einstein’s blackboard. The pandemic is not rocket science!!!! Hang out in a tent with a bunch of drunk revelers, and transmission is inevitable.

Although Omicron 5 still predominates in the US, accounting for 80% of new cases, there are 3 or 4 newer, even more resistant sub variants arising around the world. They have complicated numerical names like BQ 1.1 and others not worth trying to memorize, but they each can take off at any time.

As we have seen with every surge of this pandemic, what happens in Europe, eventually happens here. And unfortunately, our healthcare system is already stretched thin.

There are many other pathogens out there, including many other viruses wreaking havoc on schools and hospitals. This is all in an environment where many healthcare workers have left healthcare, hospitals are short staffed and anything which increases any kind of illness, be it Covid, Flu or other, will throw us into a new real crisis. In my area, 2 hospitals have closed and it is not unusual to wait as long as 12 hours in the ER waiting room or wait many months to see a specialist. I know my friends and family in Canada would respond that those kinds of wait times are the norm in their healthcare system, but us spoiled, impatient Americans want our Umpa Lumpa, and we want it now! (Willie Wonka reference in case you didn’t recognize it).

I am not in favor of new lockdowns. This has clearly been devastating to many people, especially this generation of kids. But we also can’t just continue our lives as if nothing is going on. Prudent masking, avoiding crowded places, staying away if you have any symptoms of illness… These are all behaviors which protect everyone.

Please remain careful.

Stay Safe and Be Well.

AC

Yesterday morning, I had both my 4th Covid booster (the Pfizer bivalent) at the same time as my Flu vaccine. One in each arm. This is perfectly fine and safe to do. You can do both arms or both on the same side. I would not recommend getting the shingles shot simultaneously however. Shingles can be a bear.

I was planning on delaying the flu shot by another month or so but am doing some traveling in a few weeks and decided to just go for it.

Other than some injection site pain (I’m a skinny runt), I have been fortunate not to have had any reactions to the Covid vaccines previously. I similarly have never had a reaction to the Flu shot nor the Shingles series which I got last year (that one is notorious for a few days of side effects). 

I have a few stable immune issues going on and I was nervous enough about the lack of symptoms that I tested myself for antibodies and indeed, I have a robust response to previous vaccines (and have no evidence of previous Covid infection as well – also very surprising given my line of work).

This time, 24 hours in, the main symptom is injection-site pain, although not as bad as before. I do feel a little fatigued and a bit achy all over (although I also felt great yesterday afternoon and went for the longest run I have done in over a year with some serious hills). No fever, headache or any other symptoms. Symptoms are already diminishing by mid morning. Seeing a full complement of patients.

Just a reminder that the “bivalent” vaccine means that it is 50% vaccine against the original SARS-Cov-2 virus strain (called the wild type) and 50% against the Omicron 5 sub variant. Studies have shown reduced protection against infection against 5, the predominant strain worldwide, but significant reduction in serious illness, hospitalization or death.

Please get vaccinated or boosted. 6 months after your last shot is the target. If it has been more than 6 months, the immune protection is questionable. Antibodies are surely almost gone. Other types of immune cells against the virus are present but the problem is that this virus moves so fast, the cells are too slow to ramp up antibody production to make any significant dent in the disease progression. Boosting “tops off” the antibody tank and re-stimulates the immune cells.

This pandemic is nowhere near over and as I have mentioned in previous posts, we are seeing a lot of chronic symptoms. But we don’t know what will happen in the years to come. Yes of course you can argue that we do not know what the long term side effects of the vaccine may be, but the data from the last 3 years of this pandemic and 2 years of vaccine availability is that they are safe and effective.

The most commonly taken medication by Americans are acid reducers. The most potent ones are unfortunately now available over the counter. Recent studies show a 30% increased risk of heart attack or stroke with chronic use of these drugs. NSAIDS, like motrin, advil, aleve… relieve pain but actually increase the risk of needing a joint replacement because long term use impairs our bodies ability to regenerate and repair cartilage. Meds for osteoporosis may strengthen bones in the short term, but they make bones brittle within a few years and actually increase fracture risk. All three of these classes of drugs have numerous other common, but overlooked side effects as well.

But people keep taking these drugs.

Don’t argue about taking a vaccine, which may prevent chronic side effects or even save your life, while consuming other products well documented to cause harm.

I’ll give a symptom update in a couple of days.

Stay safe and be well.

AC