The new variant COVID-19 is so contagious that even people who have avoided it until now are infected, and 80% of Americans who have been infected before are at risk of catching it again, experts say.
Essentially, everyone in the country is at risk of infection now, even if they’re very cautious, up to date on vaccines, or have already caught it, said Paula Cannon, a virologist at the University of Southern California.
“It’s crazy contagious,” said Cannon, who is recovering from her first case of COVID-19, caught while vacationing during the holidays in her native Britain.
“All the things that have protected you for the past two years, I don’t think are going to protect you against this new crop of variants,” she said.
The number of serious infections and deaths remains low, despite the high level of infections, she said, thanks to vaccinations – and probably relatively – to previous infections.
The latest variant, called XBB.1.5, it increased exponentially during the month of December, rising from around 1% of cases nationwide to 40% by December 1. 31, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. The variant is likely to cause the vast majority of cases in New York and New England.
Its growth is likely due to characteristics of XBB.1.5 – it appears to bind even more tightly to receptors in the human body than its predecessors – as well as human behavior, such as traveling and not cloaking.
It’s a good idea to do what you can to avoid getting infected, said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development at the VA St. Louis Health Care System and clinical epidemiologist at the Washington University in St. Louis. Louis.
It’s still early days and there are a lot of unknowns about XBB.1.5, he said. Any infection makes someone vulnerable to poor disease progression and persistence, miserable symptoms of long COVIDAl-Aly’s research shows.
“Reinfection buys you additional risk,” he said.
As the United States enters the tthird year of COVID-19, we provide an update on the status of the pandemic. Here is an overview of what you will learn in this article:
What to know about XBB.1.5 symptoms and how long they last
Covid-19 symptoms usually last about five to seven days and can include fever, sore throat, muscle aches, exhaustion, nausea, cough, and sinus congestion, among other issues.
Symptoms with XBB.1.5 are the same as previous variants and can range from almost nothing to shortness of breath and low oxygen levels that require emergency medical attention.
Early in the pandemic, COVID-19 often costs people their sense of taste and smell, at least temporarily, but this symptom appears to be less common, possibly due to vaccination or prior infection rather than a change in the virus, said Dr. Peter Hotez, infectious disease expert and co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital.
How long does COVID last? How long have you been contagious?
It takes between two and 14 days for exposure to result in symptoms and a positive test.
People with COVID-19 are contagious as long as they remain positive on a rapid test, usually for about 10 days, but often longer.
The The CDC recommends people self-isolate for at least five days and wear an N95 or similar protective mask for at least 10 days when around other people. Day 1 is considered the first full day after symptoms start.
A PCR test, which is considered the gold standard for diagnosing COVID-19, can remain positive for months because it detects viral fragments as well as the entire infectious virus. To confirm the end of the contagious period, experts recommend a negative rapid test instead after 10 days or two within 48 hours if earlier.
Can you catch COVID more than once?
Yes. Although a previous infection offers some protection, this fades over time and as the virus evolves into different variants.
Some people who had a mild case with a first infection hit harder the second or third time, while others might suffer less.
“Even if you’ve had it before, that doesn’t mean your next fight will be the same,” Cannon said. Many factors go into determining the severity of an infection, she said, including prior immunity, the nature of the variant and the time since your last infection or vaccination.
It is possible that her recent infection was much milder than her husband’s, for example, because she had caught a head cold a few days earlier when her husband had not. A respiratory virus can put the immune system on high alert and may have provided some protection when exposed to COVID-19.
“It’s part of the bigger dance between our body and our immune system,” Cannon said.
How to avoid infection
Methods for avoiding infection haven’t changed, although it can be difficult to stick to them when no one else is: get vaccinated, wear a mask, and avoid crowded spaces.
The first is to get vaccinated. This will protect against serious infections and reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to others, said Hotez, also dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
The new boosters, which target both the original virus and the BA.4/BA.5 variants common this summer, are more protective against XBB.1.5 than previous boosters. People who are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines probably aren’t shedding as much virus for as long, so they’re also less likely to pass it on, he added.
Past infection offers some protection against serious illness, but that protection is “very unreliable,” Hotez said.
Second is wearing a mask. Good quality, well-fitting masks, such as an N95 or KN95, can reduce the risk of infection.
Cannon said people were sometimes annoyed by his mask-wearing “because it’s like I’m reminding them that (COVID) is still an issue.” But she doesn’t want to accidentally transmit COVID to someone who might be more vulnerable to the virus.
Third, avoid crowded indoor spaces. You are less likely to become infected in large indoor spaces with high ceilings and lots of ventilation than in cramped, airless spaces.
What to do if you get sick
It’s a good idea to have a plan ready in case you get sick, Cannon said. She suggests that each plan include:
- How to isolate yourself from other members of your household
- The phone number of a health care provider who can prescribe an antiviral
- Equipment such as rapid coronavirus tests, additional masks, a thermometer and a pulse oximeter to ensure that the patient’s blood oxygen level does not drop below 90
Every US household is entitled to four free government coronavirus tests which can be ordered from this link: covid.gov/tests.
For someone over 60 Or with medical conditions like obesity that increase the risk of serious illness, the first step after a positive test should be a call to the doctor to get the Paxlovid antiviral, she and others said. The government has pre-purchased millions of doses, so they are available for free.
Some doctors are hesitant to provide the antiviral because people may need to stop taking common drugs during the five-day course, but it’s essential for people at high risk of severe illness, Hotez said. “Any senior who takes Paxlovid doesn’t die,” he said.
“We can’t stop people from getting infected,” Cannon added, “but we absolutely can stop people from getting seriously ill. My God, why wouldn’t you take it?”
Why it is better not to be infected
Every COVID-19 infection increases your risk of serious illness and long COVIDwhich sometimes results in debilitating symptoms that can persist for a year or more.
Older adults are more vulnerable, Al-Aly said, “but that doesn’t mean young people are fully protected.” The long COVID can also hit people of all ages, from childhood to the 101-year-old man recently treated in his hospital, he said.
Vaccination reduces long-term risk of COVID-19 by 15% to 30%, according to a study he just published. Another study he is working on shows that Paxlovid reduces the risk by 26%.
Cannon’s daughter works in a long-running COVID clinic and regularly sees patients in their 20s and 30s, “healthy people who haven’t even had a particularly severe episode of COVID who now have an extremely debilitating set of symptoms. “.
All six experts interviewed by USA TODAY this week dismissed the idea that there was some benefit to being infected. While an infection may help provide some protection against future infection, vaccination provides better protection without risk, Al-Aly said.
And getting sick with a virus provides absolutely no benefit, Cannon said.
“I would be happy if I never had a virus again. And I say that as a professional virologist.”
Could we be nearing the end of COVID?
COVID-19 may have been the most effective virus in human history, Cannon said, infecting billions of people across the planet.
While she worries about how it might continue to evolve, she hopes it’s a good sign that for the past year all variants have been descendants of omicron.
Before that, the original, alpha, beta and delta viruses were “radically” different from each other.
“The virus is now in this committed lineage,” Cannon said, which could mean it won’t evolve far from protecting against serious illnesses that Almost everyone now has vaccines and previous infections.
Contact Karen Weintraub at kwintraub@usatoday.com.
Coverage of patient health and safety at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.
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