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COVID's back: Here's what to know this fall and winter

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A man undergoes a COVID-19 test at a vaccination center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 12 September 2023. In recent weeks there has been a significant increase in confirmed cases of the disease in Rio. The positivity rate of cases grew from 2.5% in July to 18% in the first week of September. EPA-EFE/Andre Coelho" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/business/09/13/covid-epa-09132023.jpg"/><figcaption>A man undergoes a COVID-19 test at a vaccination center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 12 September 2023. In recent weeks there has been a significant increase in confirmed cases of the disease in Rio. The positivity rate of cases grew from 2.5% in July to 18% in the first week of September. <em>EPA-EFE/Andre Coelho</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>WASHINGTON, United States - As colder weather sets in, Covid rates are once more rising across the Northern Hemisphere, with several new variants on the scene.</p><p>Here&#x27;s what you need to know.</p><div><strong>Covid versus seasonal nasties? </strong></div><p>The Covid pandemic extracted a terrible toll, with nearly seven million deaths worldwide.</p><p>But thanks to vaccines, prior immunity and better treatments, the virus is now far more manageable. In the United States, excess deaths -- the total number of people dying for any given cause -- has been normal since spring.</p><p>&quot;If you asked me to choose between getting flu and Covid, I would pick Covid because each individual case of flu is more dangerous,&quot; said Ashish Jha, a former White House Covid coordinator and dean of public health at Brown University.</p><p>But while Covid is now less deadly to individuals, &quot;it also seems to have higher rates of long term complications.&quot;</p><p>Covid is also less seasonal than the flu, more contagious, and over the last three US winters peaked from December to January, while flu peaks later.</p><p>Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, placed Covid &quot;on par&quot; with flu and RSV, but stressed it was more severe than the common cold.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d4A0yoYP4rs?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div><strong> To boost or not to boost? </strong></div><p>Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax have developed new vaccines that more closely target current variants, all offshoots of Omicron which became dominant in late 2021.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/09/12/23/us-approves-updated-covid-vaccines-for-fall">US approves updated Covid vaccines for fall</a></li></ul><p>There is broad consensus that annual boosters will benefit the most vulnerable. But whether they bring added value to everyone is debated.</p><p>Nearly everyone has already been infected, studies show. And prior infections combined with vaccines have trained immune systems to stop severe outcomes even when they can&#x27;t ward off infection.</p><p>One-size-fits-all recommendations no longer make sense, and could decrease trust in public health, said Monica Gandhi, author of &quot;Endemic: A Post-Pandemic Playbook.&quot;</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JFje7qT2MwM?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>For example, the mRNA vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna carry small risks of heart inflammation in younger men.</p><p>European nations advise annual shots only for higher risk groups, but some experts don&#x27;t see downsides in wider recommendations.</p><p>&quot;People at low risk still derive benefit from boosters,&quot; said Ziyad Al-Aly, an epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis. The United States recommends that nearly everyone get annual Covid shots.</p><div><strong>Are masks still useful?</strong></div><p>Experts diverge on this subject, one of the most controversial of the pandemic.</p><p>A review of clinical trial data by the respected nonprofit Cochrane on whether promoting mask-wearing helped slow respiratory viruses found inconclusive results.</p><p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkjrg1IE8n4</p><p>Whether broad mandates have a significant effect, therefore, hasn&#x27;t been proven.</p><p>What researchers do know -- thanks to lab experiments -- is that well-fitted, high-caliber masks such as N-95s protect individuals.</p><p>&quot;Individuals can therefore choose to wear well-fitted and filtered masks indoors to provide personal protection from respiratory pathogens,&quot; said Gandhi, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco -- though she believes in vaccines to prevent severe disease, including among the high-risk.</p><div><strong>Test, or go to work? </strong></div><p>Experts agree that it makes sense for people at risk -- the elderly and those with conditions such as cancer, obesity and diabetes -- to test when they have symptoms.</p><p>That&#x27;s because these groups &quot;would benefit from antiviral therapy within the five-day window,&quot; said Adaja.</p><p>The most prominent treatment is Paxlovid, which has been shown to reduce the risk of severe disease and death among high-risk people.</p><p>Some health systems have decided testing at-risk people is all that&#x27;s needed.</p><p>&quot;Most people no longer need to take a coronavirus test. To prevent the spread of infection, you should try to stay at home if you&#x27;re unwell,&quot; says the UK&#x27;s National Health System.</p><div><strong>What about long Covid? </strong></div><p>Research around long Covid -- symptoms that linger for weeks or months -- remains nebulous and hampered by a lack of standardized definitions for a condition that has multiple causes, said Adalja.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/09/14/21/1-in-10-kids-have-lingering-covid-symptoms-survey">Israeli survey finds about 1 in 10 kids have lingering COVID symptoms</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/04/22/uk-researchers-cure-man-who-had-covid-for-411-days">UK researchers cure man who had COVID for 411 days</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/12/23/most-long-covid-symptoms-clear-up-in-a-year-for-mild-cases-study">Most long Covid symptoms clear up in a year for mild cases: study</a></li></ul><p>Al-Aly estimates prevalence at between 4-7 percent, or 65 million people worldwide.</p><p>&quot;Unfortunately, we have not made progress on treating long Covid. This should be an urgent priority for research,&quot; he said.</p><p>It does appear that prior vaccination reduces the risk of long Covid, and that the condition is correlated with severity of infection.</p><p>The US government has funded several trials into the condition, with one recent study finding a diabetes drug called metformin reduced the risk of ongoing symptoms by 40 percent.</p><p>Jha said he was hopeful of more data on treatments in the coming months.</p><div><strong>ia/bgs</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kur5odwB_dc?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

As colder weather sets in, Covid rates are once more rising across the Northern Hemisphere, with several new variants on the scene.