One of the risks of infection is having a long COVID.
Now, coronavirus spread is higher than during Delta's peak, and with the holidays approaching, more spread seems predictable. How can you keep yourself safe? What are the repercussions if you have COVID, which is becoming more and more of a possibility, if not a possibility? Dr. Anthony Fauci, the President's chief medical advisor and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke with BNC about this and other topics. Read on for five pieces of life-saving advice.
1. Dr. Fauci Warned of "Long COVID" Symptoms
You may have heard Omicron described as a "weaker" type of virus. That isn't to say it won't ruin your life. One thing we do know is that not only with this variant, but with all of the variants we've been dealing with, there is a syndrome known as 'Long COVID,' which means that once people recover from the acute phase of infection, they frequently experience lingering signs and symptoms, which are generally characterized by extreme fatigue, particularly after doing work like exercise or activity, sleep disturbances, and so on. It is unclear because we can't find any real pathogenic basis for it. It is now a real syndrome, not fiction. It isn't in your mind. It's something that many individuals go through. So, even if patients recover, a certain percentage of them do acquire this extended COVID, so we need to be sure."
What is the duration of Long COVID? We have no idea. "Some people, thankfully, come back to normal after a period of few weeks to a few months." However, some people still do not feel the same way they did before the infection. And we have no idea how long that will last because we have only been involved with this for a little over two years in the United States. So we'll have to depend on long-term experience to determine how long this will last," Dr. Fauci explained.
2. Dr. Fauci Said You Need a Vaccine and Booster to Protect Yourself and Here's the New Reason Why
Don't delay getting the vaccine and booster because of a magic pill or a "mild" infection. "It's always, always better not to become sick than to get infected and have to rely on treatment to keep you from becoming very ill," Dr. Fauci stated. "What we need to do is keep emphasizing the importance of getting vaccinated." Make sure to get vaccinated if you haven't already. "Get boosted if you've been vaccinated—booster doses are now becoming a critical part of protecting us because we've seen, particularly with the Omicron version, that even a very good and effective two-dose mRNA vaccine, which would give you really good protection, wanes." And when Omicron challenges you, your protection drops significantly. You still get some protection, but it's not perfect. However, when you are boosted, that level of protection is restored to a very good, safe level. So that's what we should be telling people in the first place: get vaccinated. And when it's time for a booster shot after you've been vaccinated, please go ahead and get it."
3. Dr. Fauci Do This to Stay Safe in Family Situations—and Avoid Large Gatherings or Parties
In terms of family situations, "Let's imagine you've been vaccinated and boosted, and your entire family, including your parents and children, has been vaccinated and boosted as well. If you are in a household setting for a Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, dinner, or social gathering, you are safe—nothing is ever completely risk-free, but you should feel safe in doing so. It would help if you took extra precautions to ensure that you can be tested on or the day before the event. That's a lot different than throwing a big party for 30, 40, or 50 people and not knowing what people's vaccine status is."
"I have three daughters who have come from all around the country, young adult women," he explained. Everyone is vaccinated and boosted, including myself, my wife, children, and their partners. As a result, I feel at ease entertaining a Christmas Eve and Christmas Dinner for them in my home. Given what we're going through with Omicron, there's no way I'd go to a huge Christmas party with 30 or 40 people if I didn't know their vaccine status."
4. Dr. Fauci Said Here's When We May Reach Herd Immunity
Dr. Fauci stated that he had no idea when to reach herd immunity. "And you'll only find out when you get there." And, for several diseases that we have encountered, the amount of infection drops to nearly nothing... We know that true herd immunity exists when the vaccination rate is low to mid 90 percent. So you won't get any diseases unless you get pockets of society, perhaps some areas with low vaccination rates, and then you'll get an outbreak. As we've seen with measles, outbreaks come and go over time, but that's only because we've had decades and decades of experience."
5. Dr. Fauci Said to Expect More Variants
"We may not have a variant as dangerous as Omicron, but as long as there are unvaccinated people, not only in this nation but around the world, and you give the virus the chance to reproduce and infect people freely, it has the potential to mutate." And get the right combination of mutations. You might get a new variant, which is a very good reason why we, not just the United States, but all of the other upper income and richer countries of the world, have a responsibility to provide the resources and vaccines to lower and middle-income countries so that they can address the outbreak in their own country, as I've said many times. So long as there are many viruses, there's still a chance the virus will develop into a new variant somewhere in the world. So we do have a responsibility not just to vaccinate our people but also to contribute to the vaccination of those in lower middle-income nations, which the US does better than any other country in the world combined. So get vaccinated and boosted.