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COVID-19 Wave; Labor Day Weekend; Fall Vaccinations

COVID-19 strikes again

This summer wave of COVID-19 has affected a lot of people! It seems everyone has either had it or knows of someone who has, and many who had previously escaped it are having their first bout of COVID-19 with this summer wave. Mostly, and thankfully, it is has been a more mild illness, although still can cause more serious symptoms for those who are vulnerable.

Labor Day Weekend

Meanwhile, we have Labor Day Weekend coming right up! Wellscape will be closed on Monday, September 2, 2024 to celebrate the holiday and then through Wednesday, September 4, 2024 for continuing education coursework.

Fall Vaccinations

COVID-19 

You may have heard that last week the updated COVID-19 vaccinations were approved. These have been redesigned to target the newer strains of the virus that have been circulating: KP.2 for Pfizer or Moderna, and JN.1 for the Novavax. They should be available soon!

There is some confusing information about when to get your vaccination – whether to do it right away, which might help with the current COVID-19 wave, or to wait a month or two, to get optimum protection over the winter holidays. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. It will depend on your own situation – what risk of exposure you have now and upcoming, and your risk for serious symptoms should you get it.

Additionally, there are different recommendations for people who are immunocompromised.

As a reminder, if you were recently infected, the recommendation is to wait at least 4 months until you get vaccinated. Some suspect the immunity boost from acute infection may last anywhere from 4-6 months, possibly even longer.

You also want to have at least 3 months in between vaccinations. So if you opted to get a vaccination recently to help protect against this summer wave, you shouldn’t get this updated vaccination until at least 3 months later.

Flu (Influenza)

The updated flu vaccination is already out and available. You can get it at the same time as other vaccinations, including the COVID-19 vaccination. Studies have shown that they are both still effective, and there are no safety concerns with doing that. They are working on a combination vaccination for COVID-19 and the flu, not yet available for this year.

RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus)

RSV vaccination is still available for people considered to be high risk. The RSV infections weren’t as prevalent this past winter season as they were the year before.

More information

Here are articles with additional information about the recommended vaccinations, timing, and more:

Respiratory Virus News

At the end of September, the US government will again offer access to free COVID-19 tests, so put it on your calendar to request those.

If you want to keep track of the data that is available regarding respiratory viruses, Massachusetts Department of Public Health tracks trends of respiratory illness here.

The CDC has updated it’s isolation guidelines for respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. Of note, these new guidelines do not apply to medical facilities, hospitals, and clinics.

If you come down with symptoms of COVID-19 or Influenza, I would advise alerting your primary care physician. Paxlovid is still recommended for treatment of COVID-19 for those in higher risk categories.

Of course, if you or a loved one are in a high-risk category, consider taking extra precautions. General guidelines for prevention can be found here.

Also, you can contribute to accurate data collection for COVID-19 and Flu by reporting your test results.

Have a happy and healthy Labor Day Weekend!

“To say it was a beautiful day would not begin to explain it.
It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly
with the start of fall.”
— Ann Patchett