March 30, 2022
springing up
It is the end of March, spring is springing, and many of us are starting to live like the Pandemic is fading away. Next week, I am busting out for a while. I will let you know how it goes. Jamie and I are going to Juneau for the Alaska Folk Festival. The Festival will be fun with a gathering of friends from around the country and Alaska. We will play tunes for hours, listen to some good music, and even perform some ourselves in a band with good friends. I am excited to see the Alaska State Museum which re-opened in 2016. Jamie helped with the exhibits, spending several weeks at a time in Juneau to help. And yes, Juneau in April will be wet. That is what rain gear is for. I love my Bogs.
Just like the brief reprieve in the summer before the Delta wave, we are having one now. But for how long? Cases have dropped rapidly but concern is building over the BA 2 Omicron variant that now makes up more than half the cases in the US. It seems more transmissible but doesn’t make people sicker than the original Omicron. Cases here in King County may be starting to rise, but they are still much lower than before.
Going to Juneau might seem crazy, but compared to 2 years ago, we are better off. We have vaccines that prevent serious illness and death, even if we do need boosters now and then. People are wondering if they need to get the second booster and I say “It depends”. I plan to get one, but have to wait a couple of weeks since I got my Shingles vaccine last week. It is best to wait a few weeks before getting another vaccine to maximize immune response.
We know that masks work, especially N95 and KN95. I will keep wearing them and will get a booster when the timing is better.
Since we know how to treat COVID-19 better, I feel safe enough to take some risks. We have good options for meds to take if you test positive. I know how to access testing and treatments. The US just unveiled a new and excellent website with info about local risks and how to access testing and getting treatment. This site, www.covid.gov, is a good one to bookmark and check with what is happening in your area.
Some treatments are still IV infusions, but the Pfizer treatment Paxlovid is in pill form and available. Paxlovid is interesting because it is a combination of two meds that you take at the same time. The first component, Nirmatrelvir, is a protease inhibitor that prevents the virus from replicating. Protease inhibitors have been a mainstay in treating HIV over the years. Nirmatrelvir works on SARS-CoV-2, but not all viruses. The second med, ritonovir, is also a protease inhibitor, but relatively weak. It’s useful because it boosts the levels of Nirmatrelvir by blocking metabolism at a specific enzyme. This helps the meds stay in the body longer and cuts down on how often the meds are taken. This interesting effect was discovered in the early HIV treatment days and was used to cut down on the high number of pills a patient had to take daily. The biggest problem with ritonovir is that it can interact with other meds, either increasing some to toxic levels or lowering the levels of some meds so that they are not effective. The good news is that the meds are only taken for 5 days which cuts down on toxicities. The most nuisance side effect is diarrhea.
After weighing the risks and benefits, I am taking an educated gamble. I won’t forget my masks, my hand washing, and using ventilation.
Wash your hands, cover your nose, have good ventilation, and use the resources out there like Covid.gov to keep you safe.
And finally, my caveat is that this is my experience and my opinions, which are subject to change as more information is available, and not related to the organization I work for. Thanks for reading.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/us/americans-are-taking-fewer-precautions-two-years-into-the-pandemic-poll-says.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/us/politics/the-fda-authorizes-second-covid-booster-shots-for-those-50-and-older.html
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/29/world/covid-19-mandates-cases-vaccine/should-you-get-another-covid-booster
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/should-you-get-another-covid-booster-consider-these-factors/
https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/12-things-to-know-paxlovid-covid-19
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/rising-covid-cases-in-king-county-doh-briefing/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/health/ba2-variant-covid-cases.html
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/coronavirus-daily-news-updates-march-30-what-to-know-today-about-covid-19-in-the-seattle-area-washington-state-and-the-world-2/?utm_source=link&utm_medium=social#update-14837559
https://www.covid.gov
https://akfolkfest.org
https://museums.alaska.gov/asm/asmhome.html