Just like every other January in recent memory, viruses – especially COVID-19 – are surging. But is this wave as bad as before?
KNX News Chief Correspondent Charles Feldman spoke to Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, an epidemiologist and preventative medicine professor at Keck Medicine of USC. He said we’re in a better position this year compared to previous winters.
“We're certainly better off in terms of, you know, more than 95% of the Los Angeles County residents have some immunity to COVID-19, either through vaccination or recovery from infection,” he said. “And that immunity will protect people from serious outcomes like hospitalization, being in the ICU, or death.”
But while a Kaiser Southern California study found that the fall 2023 COVID-19 vaccine provided significant protection against serious illness and hospitalization in recent months, it also found that older versions of the vaccine offered little to no protection. Only 16% of U.S. adults have gotten the updated vaccine.
As far as tracking numbers of infections, Klausner pointed to L.A. County’s Respiratory Watch website, which provides data on COVID-19, flu, and RSV levels. The most recent week’s SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentration is about as high as last year, but emergency department visits for COVID-19 are down significantly.
Klausner also emphasized that we have antiviral medications like Tamiflu and Paxlovid that can help protect against severe cases of flu and COVID, respectively.
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