COVID cases are climbing in nearly every state. In Texas, there were 2,200 emergency room visits for COVID in the week ending August 22, right as schools were heading back into session. A third of those visits came from the public health region covering South Texas. During the last week of August, the San Perlita Independent School District in the Rio Grande Valley shut down for two days to slow rapid spread among students.
Dr. Jason Bowling, a professor of infectious diseases at UT Health San Antonio and chief epidemiologist at University Health in San Antonio, says the wave hasn't peaked yet, but it likely will soon.
"I'm hopeful it'll be in the next week or so," Bowling said. "It hasn't been a long, prolonged spike the last two summers, so I'm hopeful this summer we'll follow that trend."
For people who've been exposed to COVID, there's a new option beyond the vaccine: incetrovir, sold under the brand name Zocova. Unlike Paxlovid, which is a treatment for people who are already sick and at higher risk of complications, incetrovir is a prophylactic, meant to prevent infection after exposure, particularly for household members of someone who has tested positive.
"You take that medicine within three days of that exposure, and it can reduce your risk of developing COVID yourself," Bowling said. Like Paxlovid, it's a five-day course.
The more familiar prevention tool — the vaccine — has been harder to come by this wave. The FDA didn't approve the updated COVID vaccine until August 27, leaving people turned away from pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS over the last few weeks. Now that approval has come through, shots should become more available. The updated vaccine is approved for everyone over 65, as well as younger people with conditions that raise their risk of severe illness. Bowling suggests you talk with your doctor to consider your risks and health history to decide whether a vaccine is a good choice for you.
As COVID circulates, Bowling is also looking ahead to flu season, which typically doesn't ramp up until late December or January. But in recent years, cases have started popping up as early as October. That raises the possibility of overlap this year.
"If we're still seeing COVID kind of tailing down at the end of September, early October, it's possible we could see some overlap with some early flu cases too," Bowling said. That means it might be a good idea to get your flu shot now, he added. "Getting the flu vaccine earlier so that you're protected and already have it on board" makes sense, he said, since it takes a couple of weeks for the immune system to respond.
There is a new prevention option for flu, too. In early August, the FDA approved Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine, mFlusiva. Because mRNA vaccines don't rely on egg-based culturing, Bowling said they can be manufactured and adjusted much more quickly than the traditional flu shot. The vaccine is available this year, though it may be harder to find and more expensive than traditional flu shots.
This story is based on an interview with Dr. Jason Bowling, professor of infectious diseases at UT Health San Antonio and chief epidemiologist at University Health San Antonio, for Texas Public Radio's Petrie Dish. Reporting and hosting by Bonnie Petrie; produced by Jacob Rosati and Dan Katz; editing and sound design by Jacob Rosati.
