If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or need help, call 988 or message the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
We’re certainly experiencing an uptick in cases of both COVID and other respiratory illnesses like flu and common colds. RSV appears to be peaking, but numbers still remain high. Wastewater testing shows cases of flu and COVID rising exponentially right now, and the holiday gatherings happening this weekend will certainly lead us to see more cases over the next two weeks. Hospitals are already overwhelmed with patients in respiratory distress. We do not expect a massive spike like the Omicron surge from two years ago, though, that could always happen with a new variant (we’re keeping an eye on JN.1). Overall, we think you’ll hear of a lot of employees and your own friends and family getting sick over the next few weeks, and encourage managers to plan accordingly when considering staffing. Last year, the height of the winter peak was on New Year’s Eve, and we think it might be similar this year.
Source: CDC, YLE
There’s mixed evidence about whether rebound is actually higher after taking Paxlovid. A small and preliminary study recently found that rebound was much more common with Paxlovid than without. But two massive systematic reviews of the current research by federal agencies found no conclusive link between antivirals like Paxlovid and COVID rebound. Generally, the concern is not whether Paxlovid works to reduce the severity of symptoms - it does! The real question is whether the relatively short 5-day dose should be extended. If you are older or at higher risk for severe complications from COVID, you should absolutely take Paxlovid if your doctor recommends it. Paxlovid still slashes your chances of being hospitalized or dying from COVID by a whopping 80%, so don’t let the risk of rebound fool you. We think it’s possible that future research may mean antivirals are a 10-day prescription rather than 5, or that other brands’ antivirals that are still in development may account for this with longer prescription courses.
Source: STAT
Ultimately, we don’t recommend that an employee return to work if they’re within 10 days from symptom-onset and still testing positive on a rapid test, which means they’re still shedding enough virus that they’re likely infectious. Remember, the 5-day isolation period is a general rule meant to balance the infectiousness of COVID and the need for people to get on with their lives. Generally, testing is not required to return to work after 5 days have passed since symptoms first start, as long as the employee is feeling better. But if they do choose to test and test positive, they should wait until either a negative test result or after Day 10 to return to work, whichever comes first.
Sources: ZHH, CDC
Hospitals are already overwhelmed this winter with a variety of respiratory illnesses and many patients struggling to breathe. Nationwide, we’re not in crisis mode yet, but it doesn’t take much to tip our healthcare system beyond its breaking point.
Note: We are off next week, we’ll be back in 2024. If anything urgent happens or a large surge comes, we’ll be sure to keep you updated throughout the week. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
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