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COVID is a part of life now. El Paso doctors share what that means. [1]
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Date: 2024-09-10
Four years later and COVID-19 is here to stay.
The virus that killed almost 4,000 people in El Paso after it arrived has shifted over time from a pandemic to what some experts call an endemic, joining other lingering viruses including HIV and influenza.
In what’s becoming an annual summer trend, the United States experienced a recent rise in COVID-19 infections as new, milder strains circulate. If viral activity follows the same pattern as the last two years, infections may drop before surging in December.
El Paso Matters spoke with two physicians for guidance on how to navigate the new reality of COVID-19 in 2024: Dr. Ogechika Alozie, an infectious disease specialist associated with multiple hospitals in El Paso, and Dr. Armando Meza, chief of infectious diseases at Texas Tech Health El Paso.
Any time a community has been exposed to a particular microbe or virus, through both infection and vaccination, some type of immunity will develop, Meza said. For the majority of the population that immunity will be enough to prevent them from going to the hospital.
“However, we also have populations with a high risk of complications because their immune system, their ability to fight back infection, is not normal,” Meza said. “They have chronic illnesses.”
Dr. Armando Meza
Both Alozie and Meza said they tailor their COVID-19 advice to the individual patient. A person who works in a hospital may have to take more precautions than someone working from home, Meza gave as an example.
“In many scenarios we tend to wish there was a single solution to a problem,” Meza said. “I think the best way is to use a combination.”
First, people should be in their best health possible so they don’t get so sick if they’re infected, Meza said. That means managing chronic diseases including diabetes and high blood pressure. Then there’s other measures, such as vaccinations to prevent severe illness and isolating when sick to prevent spread, especially to more vulnerable populations.
Prior to the pandemic, it was normal for patients to discuss risks with their physician and follow advice based on those discussions, Alozie said. Nowadays that nuance gets lost in misinformation. People may be more inclined to follow advice from wellness influencers than health care providers.
“In health care as a whole, COVID created a space where we got into a black-and-white, political realm,” Alozie said. “If you’re on one side, you do all the things. If you’re on the other side, you do none of the things.”
Here are six things to know about the COVID-19 situation in El Paso:
What is the level of COVID spread in El Paso?
Dr. Ogechika Alozie
Alozie said he saw an overall bump in hospital patients who tested positive for COVID-19 in the summer, but fewer patients had acute, severe illness from COVID compared with last year. He estimates over half the infected patients he’s seen don’t have concurrent pneumonia, which reduces the lungs’ ability to get oxygen.
From June through August, 110 patients who were hospitalized at University Medical Center of El Paso had COVID-19, according to data provided by the hospital. About a quarter to a third of patients each month had incidental COVID-19, meaning they did not come to the hospital seeking COVID-19 care, but tested positive, clarified UMC spokesperson Ryan Mielke.
National wastewater data over the last couple years show viral activity peaks in the summer and over the winter holidays, but it’s difficult for the public to get an idea of how much COVID-19 is spreading in El Paso at any given time.
In August 2023, the El Paso health department discontinued its weekly report of hospitalization and case numbers. Community case counts, however, are no longer the most accurate way to observe trends because many people use at-home test kits and don’t report their results to the health department.
For more accuracy, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitors the levels of various infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and influenza, through the National Wastewater Surveillance System. Infected people shed the virus in their stool, even if they are pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic.
Before retiring at the end of May 2022, then-El Paso health director Angela Mora said the city had plans to expand wastewater testing capacity for not only COVID-19 but other pathogens. But El Paso stopped sharing its COVID-19 wastewater data in September 2023, less than two years after joining the CDC program.
Will we ever get rid of COVID?
Probably not. Vaccination rates are not high in the general population. The virus continues to transform and is a more transmissible virus than the flu, Meza said.
“The only way for it to disappear is if all of the population would be immune and that’s very unlikely to happen,” Meza said.
Eddie Romero, an employee of Ysleta ISD, receives a Covid-19 vaccination from Immunize El Paso during an event for district employees on Dec. 19. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
Some epidemiologists believe SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease, is transitioning into an endemic – a disease with a steady and predictable presence in a particular region, but not spreading out of control.
Should I still stay home if I have COVID?
People should stay home when they’re sick with any contagious illness, not just COVID-19. Unfortunately, the labor system values the ability to show up for work over the common sense of making your coworkers safe, Alozie said.
Even if the virus doesn’t kill someone, “you’re not doing your community or workplace or school a favor if you’re going to suck it up and go,” Alozie said. “You don’t know who has a condition and your infection might cause that person to end up in a hospital.”
While masks – N95 and KN95 masks, not surgical or cloth masks – can help prevent the wearer from catching the virus, he does not recommend sick people go out and about with a mask on because they can still spread the disease. It’s better for sick people to stay home, he stressed.
This can be challenging if someone doesn’t have paid time off or childcare, but you should still inform people so they can make a decision if they want to be around you, Alozie said.
When should I get the annual COVID shot?
Meza recommends getting the COVID-19 shot between now and October. Getting the COVID-19 and flu shots at the same time can prevent people from forgetting to get the second shot later. Don’t put off getting the vaccine for too long – flu and COVID-19 activity usually begins to surge in December and you want some protection before that, Meza said.
People who’ve recently been infected with COVID-19 can wait three months before getting the shot. It takes about two weeks for COVID-19 and flu vaccines to reach peak effectiveness. Immunity is at its strongest in the first three months after vaccination.
A COVID-19 rapid antigen test shows a positive result. (Image via JJonahJackelope/ Creative Commons)
The CDC recommends everyone ages six months and older get the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine.
The people who should prioritize vaccination are those who are most vulnerable – people aged 65 or older, lifetime smokers and the immunocompromised, people on long term medication that reduces their immunity, those who have never been vaccinated, Alozie said.
Healthy people who already have some immunity from previous COVID-19 vaccines and infections can consider delaying their vaccination until October or even November, Alozie recommended in contrast with the CDC.
Will health insurance cover my COVID-19 shot?
Medicaid, Medicare and most private health insurance plans will cover the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost, but for the privately insured, it may depend if the pharmacy is in network. For example, health insurance provider Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas does not include CVS in its pharmacy network and prefers other pharmacies including Walgreens, Walmart and Albertsons.
The vaccine at CVS and Walgreens pharmacies cost about $200 for people who aren’t covered by their plan or don’t have health insurance.
Last month, because of lack of federal funding, the CDC ended its Bridge Access Program to provide free COVID-19 vaccines to adults without insurance or those whose insurance didn’t cover all vaccine costs. Children without health coverage can receive the COVID-19 shot through the Vaccines for Children program.
El Paso’s community health clinics will continue to offer the vaccine for free to uninsured and underinsured patients, said city spokesperson Soraya Ayub. The city expects to receive COVID-19 vaccines Sept. 20, though this date may shift depending on delivery schedules, manufacturer availability or other factors, she said.
Can I still get free at-home COVID tests?
The federal government plans to bring back its free, at-home COVID-19 tests by the end of the month. Households will be able to order four tests to receive via the U.S. Postal Service.
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