{"id":22021,"date":"2024-01-17T09:58:10","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T14:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/medicine\/?p=22021"},"modified":"2024-01-17T09:58:10","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T14:58:10","slug":"dom-faculty-member-in-the-media-covid-and-flu-cases-rise-in-mass-as-experts-urge-more-vaccination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/medicine\/2024\/01\/17\/dom-faculty-member-in-the-media-covid-and-flu-cases-rise-in-mass-as-experts-urge-more-vaccination\/","title":{"rendered":"DoM Faculty Member In The Media: COVID and flu cases rise in Mass. as experts urge more vaccination"},"content":{"rendered":"
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COVID-19 and flu are both on the rise in Massachusetts. The latest wastewater detection levels of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the days after Christmas, released Thursday, met or surpassed the post-holiday peak reached this time last year in the Boston area.<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The uptick has public health experts urging people to get vaccinated and do what they can to stop the spread of respiratory illnesses.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sabrina Assoumou, an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center and an associate professor at Boston University, said people are still not getting as severely ill when they contract COVID due to the degree of immunity many have through previous vaccinations or infections.<\/p>\n

But still, she pointed to the ongoing deaths due to COVID in the United States, which have stayed\u00a0<\/span>above 1,000 per week<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>for the last few months across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just too many, especially at a time when we have a vaccine that could prevent this,\u201d Assoumou said. \u201cAnd the reason why you want to get vaccinated right now is because, as we’re learning, the virus is changing, and we also have what we call waning immunity. So the protection is waning.\u201d<\/p>\n

State data\u00a0<\/span>shows<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>that about 18% of Massachusetts residents have gotten a recent COVID vaccine, and about 37% have gotten the flu shot.<\/p>\n

Experts advised that the problem isn\u2019t just about how severe the infection is upfront. COVID can turn into\u00a0<\/span>long COVID,<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>a wide-ranging set of health problems including brain fog and severe fatigue \u2014 some of which can be debilitating \u2014 that people can experience for months or even years after being infected. The flu, too, can bring about other long-term health complications.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably the biggest argument around trying to avoid COVID, and even flu for that matter, is that there are higher risks for medical problems after you get these infections,\u201d said Dr. Lou Ann Bruno-Murtha, the division chief of infectious diseases at Cambridge Health Alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just the infection itself: it\u2019s that the inflammation caused by the infection puts you at risk for other comorbidities and problems down the road,\u201d Bruno-Murtha added. \u201cAnd certainly, long COVID is still a thing that we want to avoid \u2014 there’s previously healthy people that are currently suffering from long COVID. So if you can avoid long COVID, or avoid having a cardiac complication after influenza, you’re going to be well ahead of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>
New wastewater data shows the prevalence of the virus that causes COVID-19 has met or exceeded last year’s levels after the holidays.<\/figcaption>
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Courtesy of Massachusetts Water Resources Authority<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Assoumou said that, for those who think they\u2019ve been infected, the federal government is making\u00a0<\/span>more free COVID tests available.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re at high risk for complications from COVID, you could consider wearing a high-quality mask in indoor public settings and also trying to avoid crowds,\u201d Assoumou said. \u201cAnd if you\u2019re sick, please stay home so that we can protect the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people who test positive for COVID should isolate for at least five days and wear a high-quality mask if they have to be around others, at home or in public. But the CDC recommends\u00a0<\/span>continuing to isolate<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>if symptoms persist past five days.<\/p>\n

Bruno-Murtha added that there is one bright spot in the respiratory illnesses picture in the state right now:\u00a0<\/span>the number of infections caused by RSV is going down.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is RSV seems to have peaked and is subsiding. So that\u2019s great news for our young children, neonates that are really at risk for that to be a really severe disease,\u201d said Bruno-Murtha.<\/p>\n

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MORE HEALTH<\/h3>\n