Quite a few people in the Eureka Springs area have been under the weather since the holidays when people gathered indoors often in crowded conditions with very few people masking. Some are reporting more cases of Covid in their circles than at any time since the pandemic began in 2020.
Of about eight people who attended a Christmas Eve dinner in Eureka Springs, five came down with Covid. Two had just got Covid boosters within the past month and another just got over Covid. Those were the three who didn’t get Covid. “That’s a pretty good endorsement that vaccinations and immunity works!” one of the lucky ones who was vaccinated and didn’t get sick said.
Another endorsement of vaccinations is from Nan and Dave Johnson. They got their flu, RSV and Covid vaccines late in 2023 as recommended and haven’t been sick. “Since I have hyperacusis [sensitivity to sound], we don’t go anywhere or have people over, so I guess that has protected us some more,” Nan said.
T.J. Brooks also reports he got all the vaccinations and has stayed well.
Another local woman reported she had a very social holiday season and stayed healthy after getting all the vaccines. The few cases of Covid she was aware of were mild and short-lived. “I am sure if you talk with our medical community, they will cite statistics that indicate Covid is still with us for sure! Bottom line for me: the vaccines work,” she said.
Dr. John House, Health First Clinic, reported they are seeing Covid, flu, some RSV and strep throat particularly in the teenage and adolescent age groups. But there are unnamed viruses causing quite a lot of misery, too.
“We are seeing cases where people have all the symptoms like flu or Covid, but they test negative for Covid, RSV and flu,” House said. “There are multiple viruses out there that cause cold-like symptoms.”
House said the vaccines are helpful definitely; that was evidenced by the drop in severe cases of Covid once the Covid vaccines become widely available. Flu shots are proven to help prevent flu deaths and hospitalizations. The flu shot doesn’t mean you won’t get the flu but generally your flu will be much less severe.”
House said locally the cases of Covid being seen at the clinic have not been serious. People may feel bad but there are not the number of hospitalizations and deaths being seen a couple of years ago.
House said it is best to get shots early on in the season but someone who has been isolated so far this season and has a lung disease would be encouraged to get vaccines if they are going to be traveling or out in the community.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for the number of days to isolate after a case of Covid have decreased. Instead of now recommending people isolate until they test negative, it is recommended they stay isolated until 24 hours after the last fever without the use of fever-reducing medications.
“Most people are not paying attention to CDC recommendations,” House said. “If they feel better, they go about and don’t worry about it. This may be why we are seeing the surges we are seeing. It is kind of hard to tell people to stay home when they feel better.”
Masking in public is still a good idea. More people have been seen masking recently at Hart’s Family Center. But House said at their clinic, they do not mask unless someone says they are sick with a virus. Then staff mask up to see people outside in their car.
Flu is a much bigger deal right now than Covid according to reports from the Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas reported a “very high” or 11 out of 13 for the influenza-like-illness at the end of December. Hospital Emergency Department visits were at 8.83 percent for flu, 4.80 percent for Covid and 1.47 for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Nationally, CDC estimates that there have been at least 7.1 million illnesses, 73,000 hospitalizations, and 4,500 deaths from flu so far this season. Arkansas reported no Covid-related deaths the last week of December and 629 deaths since Jan. 1, 2023.
Tracy, who lives in Eureka in the summer and New Orleans in the winter, said she was vaccinated for flu and Covid. She got a bad cold in early November—her first cold in years.
“I had two friends get Covid for the first time in December, and both of them had every Covid vaccination and booster available,” she said. “One of them (75 years old) got quite sick and got better and sick again lasting almost three weeks but was not hospitalized. The other (65 years old) got sick, but not for very long and was not hospitalized. Both took the Paxlovid antiviral medicine.”
Vicki Brooks had the earlier Covid vaccinations but didn’t get the booster this year. She didn’t get Covid but got sick with a bad cold just in time to miss the Christmas program at the Methodist Church.
“Lots of sneezing and nasal congestion and some cough and fever,” Brooks said. “I was negative for Covid and doctored myself at home and didn’t get tested for anything else. Based on advice from Fain’s Herbacy, I dosed Monolaurin six capsules three times daily and was better in two days. I then quit taking the monolaurin and had a relapse a few days later. I took monolaurin until the jar was empty and felt better.”
For what it’s worth, Brooks is convinced many of our cold/flu illnesses follow periods of increased sugar consumption.
Helga Dietzel continues to get updates about Covid from NPR.
“Covid is continuing to mutate, so I continue to take care of myself as I have from the very beginning,” Dietzel said. “What I do miss is connections with other people. Visiting and gathering outside I’ve experienced, and is always a joy and safe. Keeping connected with texting or email or phone calls is important to check on each other.”
Some in the medical community refer to flu, strep, Covid and RSV as the Big Bad Four. Allergies and sinus infections can also be common. Local resident Liz Kimberlin recently completed a course of Amoxycillin for a sinus infection she got while in New York City.
“I feel a lot better, although still pretty fatigued,” Kimberlin said. “I continued to test negative for the other Big Bad Four. I have been requesting to get all the available vaccines, but I keep getting told that I can’t get them while I’m still symptomatic. Meanwhile many cold/flu-like symptoms just won’t go away, and I treat the discomfort with over-the-counter medications. I can’t remember the last time I truly tasted food, and I seem to be losing weight. Now we have bad weather coming this week, starting tomorrow with the rain and snow on Tuesday, and I wonder if that’s going to negatively impact me.”
One local woman who had all the vaccinations said she had a very social holiday season and stayed healthy. The few Covid cases she was aware of were mild and short-lived. “Still, I am sure if you talk with our medical community, they will cite statistics that indicate Covid is still with us for sure! Bottom line for me: the vaccines work,” she said.
Two local residents got Covid in September after traveling. “My husband and I both had similar symptoms, headache, initial fever, sore throat and cough,” Janet said. “Neither of us took the antiviral medication. Neither of us has taken the latest vaccine, although we had taken all of the others. Our initial symptoms were gone in 5-7 days. But, for me, the fatigue lingered for a couple of weeks. We are masking when in large groups or close quarters.”
Sue and Fred Hopkins traveled a lot recently without getting sick. They masked on all flights and in the airports. But they came home to family members who all had bad colds.
“And all of their extended family had bad colds, also,” she said. “So that compromised several folks in Eureka. I got sick. We tested several times. It was just a bad cold… my first cold since before Covid.”
Eureka Springs School Superintendent Bryan Pruitt said their school nurse reports that since the students returned from the holiday vacations, there have been only a few out with minor illnesses lasting a day or two, and then the kids are back in school. There have been short-lived colds and stomach viruses. There have been no reports of Covid or flu.
“Our numbers are good,” Pruitt said. “Our attendance is normal.”