With new variants posing the next serious threat in the pandemic, many have been worried about the possibility of masks returning, hospitals filling, and more. To discuss these topics, Dr. David Hilden shared his thoughts on the state of the pandemic this morning with News Talk 830 WCCO's Adam Carter.
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Hilden shared that there will always be mutations to viruses no matter what, but we can get ahead of it if proper action is taken.
"The only way to get ahead of that is vaccination," Hilden said.
At the moment, a new strain of the virus has been detected and is now being called Delta plus. This, along with any other variant, is something that health professionals continue to monitor, Hilden said. But he thinks that this isn't the last variant that will be found.
"We're gonna have to brush up on our greek letters because there will be many more," he said.
When it comes to kids wearing masks, it's an easy question for Hilden.
"That is one of the easier questions for me. I don't think there's any question whatsoever that if you're a parent, your kid is wearing a mask each and every day," Hilden said.
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When it comes to statements that wearing masks causes harm as people may be breathing in their own carbon dioxide, Hilden disagrees.
"There is no long-term known effects of that," Hilden said, but he understands where people are coming from. "I get that it's because you worry about all these little things that could happen. There's a small chance you have a little extra carbon dioxide; well, if that were the case, your surgeon would pass out when he's got his hands in your abdomen while operating."
While there may be a possibility that small levels of carbon dioxide build up in masks, compared to the other option, Hilden sees no comparison.
"They aren't even in the same stratosphere compared to covid," he said.
With kids now catching the delta variant, Hilden sees the need for students to be in masks when they are in class this fall.
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Some have asked if staying distant may have weakened our immune systems from different colds and illnesses we may have been exposed to, but Hilden does not think this will have an effect. Instead, he believes that Covid may be treated just like the common cold in the near future, as he says it will be around for our lifetime.
With the transmissibility of the delta variant being higher than the common strain of Covid-19, hospitals have been seeing a higher number of patients needing care for the virus. If this continues, we may be in another bad spot, according to Hilden.
"We feel that in about two to four weeks, if we get an extra 20 to 30 or 40 Covid patients per hospital, then we are gonna be in real trouble," Hilden said.
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