COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses rise as fall approaches in California
As fall approaches, respiratory illnesses are beginning to increase in California, with health officials noting an increase in strep throat, colds and COVID-19 cases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that strep throat infections are increasing as children return to school. Cold viruses are also on the rise, and while flu and RSV activity remains low nationally, they are expected to increase in the coming weeks.
California is also seeing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases.
“This is a late summer surge, later than last year, but it’s the highest number of COVID cases we’ve seen since last summer’s surge, so the activity level right now is very high,” said Dr. Dean Blumberg of UC Davis Health Pediatric Infectious Diseases.
Blumberg said that in California, the highest surges in the past two years occurred in the summer, and he wasn’t sure why.
“In general, the first time you get COVID should be the worst,” Blumberg said of the symptoms. But high exposure to the virus could lead to more severe illness.
Overall, illness rates are “less severe” in this “late waning of the pandemic,” he said.
Earlier in the pandemic, COVID had a higher risk of hospitalization and death than the flu, but that has since reversed, Blumberg said.
For those interested in antiviral treatment with Paxlovid, Blumberg recommended getting tested.
“The sooner it’s done, the more effective it is,” he said, adding that people should go to an urgent care center to get a prescription for antivirals if their regular provider takes longer to get back to them.
Paxlovid stops the virus from multiplying and “works best” for people most at risk of severe illness: people who are 65 or older, immunocompromised, or at greatest risk of complications.
COVID-19 and flu vaccines are now available and recommended for everyone over 6 months of age. RSV vaccines are also available to infants, the elderly, and pregnant women, who can receive the vaccine late in pregnancy.
Blumberg said flu antivirals shorten the duration of illness.
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Gn Health
