COVID-19 is still circulating, and the holidays are expected to bring about an uptick in cases. While our economy has generally moved on from COVID, many people are still catching and struggling with illness related to the condition every day, all throughout California.
Not all news related to COVID-19 is bad news. Despite surges in infections, the hospitalization and death numbers have not risen to a substantial degree. For now, at least, it does appear the vaccinations, past infections, and severity of current variants appear to be less than during the peak of the early stages of the pandemic – when Delta and the original variant were causing severe illness in many patients.
We all still should be careful about COVID-19, and those that are able to protect themselves should continue to do so. Seniors and those that are immunocompromised also continue to be at greater risk of illness. But, while COVID-19 is still a potentially deadly disease that can also lead to some long term complications, the “worst of the pandemic” appears to be over.
New Variants and New Fears
Still, one thing to understand about COVID-19 is that there are new variants often. One of the things that makes COVID-19 so potentially dangerous is that it mutates and changes quickly as it spreads through the population. Every time there is a new variant, you will often see news articles about how dangerous or deadly each new variant is.
Nebraska Medicine publishes the current variants that are circulating in the state of Nebraska, and while our rates of infection are different here in California, we can assume many of the variants are the same. As of this writing, we’re dealing with the following variants:
- HV 1
- EG 5
- BA 2.86
- JD 1.1
- HK 3
- FL 1.5.1
- XBB 1.16.6
- XBB 2.3
That is a lot of variants, and you may wonder if there is one that we should fear among all others.
The answer is: probably not. One thing to understand about all current variants is that all of them, at least at the time of this writing, are still variants of Omicron – the same variant of the disease that has been spreading since January 2021. Omicron, which was still very deadly at the time but at a lesser rate than Delta and the original virus, is also the same variant that has been in most vaccinations and has already infected a large percentage of the population.
While all these variants differ slightly from the original Omicron, they are all still Omicron, which means most of us already have some degree of exposure and immunity to the virus. Even though all these variants have different names, our exposure to Omicron decreases the risk of severe illness and death.
However, any time you catch COVID-19, you are at risk of a severe disease. COVID-19 remains a deadly virus. Every day, an estimated 10 to 25 Californians pass away due to complications related to COVID-19. Many are also at risk of moderate to severe illness. You should never take COVID-19 lightly, as the risks are still there.
With that in mind, we now also have more tools to address COVID-19 infections, and we have services like American River Visiting Providers, where we can provide you with medications like Paxlovid at home so you do not have to leave your home to receive treatment and support. These treatments are effective against known variants, and can reduce the risk of severe illness.
We should always be vigilant against COVID-19. But we may do not necessarily have to fear every new variant that we hear about. Protect yourself as best you can, but know that each variant does not necessarily mean you have more or less to fear than you did previously. If you or someone you love may have COVID-19 and you need at-home treatment, please call American River Visiting Providers, today.