Latest news with #JodieGuest
WebMD
22-07-2025
- Health
- WebMD
Why COVID Spikes in the Summer, and How to Stay Safe
With cases climbing again, you might be wondering why a "winter virus" keeps returning in the heat, and what you should be doing right now to protect yourself. "A couple of months ago, experts were uncertain about a summer wave," said Jodie Guest, PhD, an epidemiologist at Emory University in Atlanta who has tracked COVID since the start of the pandemic. "The low levels of respiratory illness in spring 2025 and stable variant landscape suggested a quiet summer." But three key indicators now have COVID watchdogs sounding the alarm: a new virus strain, increasing wastewater levels, and emergency room visit upticks in parts of the U.S. The CDC now lists the "COVID-19 epidemic trend" as growing or likely growing for more than half of U.S. states. The strongest indicators were seen in Arkansas, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. Here's what to know about summer COVID, and how to protect yourself – especially if you have a summer vacation or travel coming up. I thought COVID was a big risk during flu season. Did something change? No, COVID has always had two waves, about six months apart – one in the summer and the other at the height of winter "respiratory season," when flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) also rage. The winter wave typically peaks sometime between "December and February, coinciding with colder weather and increased indoor gatherings," said Guest, senior vice chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health. "Summer waves have occurred sporadically, often driven by new variants or waning immunity." Here's when COVID peaked the past three summers: 2022: Around Aug. 1 2023: Around Sept. 30 2024: Around Aug. 31 This timing has prompted some experts to theorize that summer waves may be linked to people spending more time indoors with air conditioning during the height of summer heat. Why are there two COVID waves, but influenza only spikes once per year? Some scientists point to rapid mutations and waning immunity from past infection or vaccination. "A big chunk of people will get sick in a wave, and they'll have pretty good immunity to that particular variant, and that immunity is enough to sort of stop that wave in its tracks," said Emily Landon, MD, an infectious disease specialist at UChicago Medicine in Illinois. The virus then needs to change enough to evade existing immunity before another cycle starts back up. A second theory suggests there are three distinct groups of people – a summer group, a winter group, and a group that gets infected twice a year. The idea is based on the idea that people vary in how long they're immune after infection, vaccination, or both. Scientists still need more data to know for sure, "but the bottom line is we're certainly seeing a big increase in cases in the summer and a big increase of cases in the winter," Landon said. Is this surge caused by the new variant? Yes, partly. NB.1.8.1 – or Nimbus – has been on the rise in Asia recently, and it now accounts for as many as 43% of new cases in the U.S., up from 24% at the beginning of June, according to CDC data. It's the variant known for a " razor blade" sore throat symptom, although it doesn't appear to cause more severe illness than other versions of the virus, Landon said. This geographic pattern has become pretty set: A rising variant in Asia or Europe typically foreshadows a rise in the U.S., said Sabrina A. Assoumou, MD, MPH, an infectious disease doctor and professor at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Another regional clue: "We have typically seen that the [U.S.] rise in cases starts in the South," said Assoumou. She noted that some of the highest wastewater levels of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) are in Florida and Alabama right now. "This is often followed by increases in other parts of the nation such as the Northeast." How can I protect myself from summer COVID? Make sure your vaccination is current. If you got a COVID shot last winter, you're probably good, Landon said. But if you're 65 or older, immunocompromised, or have a health condition that puts you at high risk – the CDC website maintains a list of qualifying conditions – ask your health care provider if you need a booster now. People with upcoming travel should consider a booster, too. Landon, who has rheumatoid arthritis and receives treatment that affects her immune system, just got a booster because she's going on vacation soon. "I want the best protection since I know that we're seeing the beginning of a summer spike," she said. Remember that masks are still an effective tool. If you're traveling, wear a mask like an N-95, KN-95, or KF-94, and make it as snug as you can tolerate. Don't just wear it on the plane; wear it while lining up to board, too. It is OK to slip it down to sip a drink or eat a snack while in flight. "I would absolutely recommend that everyone wear a mask on an airplane," Landon said. "The last thing you want is even any kind of cold, let alone COVID, when you're on vacation." Pack some COVID tests in your travel bag. If you know you have COVID, you can consider starting antiviral medication right away, which can reduce your risk of hospitalization. Maybe bring a Paxlovid prescription too. If you're older or have a condition that puts you at high risk, ask your doctor to prescribe Paxlovid or another antiviral called molnupiravir to bring with you in case you get sick. Ask sick people to stay home. If you're planning a summer party, Landon suggested adding a note to the bottom of the invite that says, "We have some high-risk people coming. If you're not feeling well, we'll take a pass and meet up with you another time when you're feeling better." Some people feel obligated to attend parties even when they aren't feeling well. "Letting them know that they're off the hook if they're sick and that you really don't want them to come if they're sick is a really important way that you can help protect your own health and help other people to do the right thing," Landon said.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Worried about foodborne illness this Memorial Day? Don't count on the CDC's help.
As of Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Health Alert Network, tasked with sending critical public health information on disease outbreaks and prevention tips to health professionals and the public, hadn't published an alert since March 18. That March alert focused on the risk of dengue infection, particularly in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There's been no shortage of news the public should have been informed about since then, including outbreaks of salmonella and listeria this month, but the CDC has grown noticeably silent. And now we've reached Memorial Day, when families traditionally enjoy foods at picnics and barbecues. Imagine going to such a cookout and not knowing if it's been determined that the brand of meat on the table is free of potentially deadly bacteria. The CDC's reluctance to provide transparent information about current disease outbreaks leaves Americans vulnerable. Front-line health care workers get less information to share with their patients on how to mitigate the spread of outbreaks, and the general public doesn't receive timely warnings on what diseases to look out for or what foods or produce to avoid if there's an active foodborne illness spreading. As a physician and public health expert, I rely regularly on CDC newsletters to help inform my articles and videos in educating the public on the most pressing health issues. Without these newsletters and health alerts, finding credible sources on important health updates has become more difficult. When the public lacks information on disease outbreaks, people can't take precautions to protect themselves or others. The absence of transparent communication breeds confusion and mistrust. 'Public health functions best when its experts are allowed to communicate the work that they do in real time, and that's not happening,' Kevin Griffis, the director of communications at the CDC until March, told NPR. 'That could put people's lives at risk.' Speaking of the general absence of information coming from the CDC, Dr. Jodie Guest, a professor and senior vice chair of the department of epidemiology at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, told NPR, 'The whole goal is to say, this is what we know. And here are the best recommendations from experts in the field.' Americans are already paying the price for the lack of effective communication during disease outbreaks. Look no further than the current measles outbreak in Texas, where over 700 people have been infected, including two unvaccinated children who have died. Some infected children with measles were hospitalized with vitamin A toxicity after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrongly touted vitamin A as a treatment for measles. The clamps on health communication represents a public health crisis in the making. People have died and will continue to die if evidence-based health recommendations are not more transparent to the American public. The two measles deaths in Texas could have been entirely prevented with vaccination. We must demand more from the CDC and hold the agency accountable for providing lifesaving health information that has been a part of its DNA for decades. The next foodborne illness will not wait for a press release or federal funding. In his first address to HHS workers, Kennedy promised 'radical transparency' with respect to health initiatives to help restore public trust in health. Instead, flu vaccination campaigns have been halted, medical journals are receiving threatening letters from the Justice Department alleging bias and conflict of interest issues, and important health information on disease outbreaks is not being communicated broadly through the avenues of the CDC. The American public deserves better from the CDC. Public health is an invisible infrastructure that supports everything from our schools to our economy and daily living. When it's dismantled, everything falls apart. Our ability to stay healthy depends in large part on receiving clear and effective communication. If the CDC stays silent, then the American people will be in the dark on trying to mitigate the spread of deadly disease outbreaks. Another disease outbreak is always around the corner. And the CDC needs to recommit to its mission and make sure the American public will be informed about it. This article was originally published on
