Northwest Arkansas has been experiencing springlike weather in late February and early March, but people are still getting sick from Covid-19, the flu, and other viruses. Some people are having mild cases of Covid that they say isn’t any worse than the flu. Other people, especially older people with underlying health conditions like immune system disorders, are getting very sick.
“We are still seeing significant Covid in the community,” said Dr. Dan Bell. “About seventy people a day are getting hospitalized in Arkansas. That is a lot. Twenty people per week in Arkansas died of Covid during February. It is still way worse than influenza.”
On March 1 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came out with new guidelines recommending that people over 65, and younger people with chronic illnesses, should be vaccinated again with the new monovalent vaccine. Bell said that because the CDC said “should” instead of “may” get vaccinated, which was the advice on the bivalent vaccine for this past fall and winter, it means that insurance companies are required to cover the cost of the new vaccine.
“It looks like immunity doesn’t last all year for those at risk,” Bell said. “Not only is immunity waning, but the virus is mutating. Those who are really at risk probably ought to get two shots a year using the most up-to-date vaccines.”
But how many people will hear about or heed that advice? Of people in Arkansas over 65, only a third have been vaccinated in the past six months. Bell said that many people are tired of it and want to move on. “But we shouldn’t drop our guard,” he added. “These vaccines are safe. They are not going to make you sick. You need them if you are over 65 and particularly if you have health risks like diabetes, COPD, or your immune system is impaired.”
If you are over 65 and do get a virus, he advises getting tested immediately. If it is Covid, visit your doctor to get a prescription for an antiviral drug like Paxlovid. “It does make a difference right away,” Bell said.
Some people question how effective the vaccines are, how it can be studied when there are so many factors involved such as prior infections, prior vaccinations and the type of vaccinations. Some people aren’t testing and may not even know they have had Covid.
“The big picture now is that ninety-eight percent of us have some immunity,” Bell said. “We have had the virus or the vaccine or both. It is a whole lot different than when it started. But the fact of the matter is this latest booster at this stage is reducing hospitalizations by seventy percent. About three quarters of the people dying from Covid haven’t been vaccinated in the past year. If it does happen to you and you didn’t get vaccinated, your family is going to be disappointed and you are going to be disappointed. We should all be good stewards of our health.”
Bell is seeing patients with long Covid with symptoms including brain fog, fatigue and memory loss. Some are disabled by long Covid and can’t work anymore. He has seen even young people disabled by memory problems.
“Covid will never just be the common cold,” he said.
In a recent press release, CDC Director Mandy Cohen wrote that most Covid-19 deaths and hospitalizations in 2023 were among those 65 and older. “An additional vaccine dose can provide added protection that may have decreased over time for those at highest risk,” she said.
The news comes out at the same time that the largest vaccine safety study to date has identified two new, but very rare, side effects associated with Covid-19 vaccines—transverse myelitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, according to the medical journal The BMJ. “The study, published in Vaccine, confirmed previously identified risk factors including myocarditis and pericarditis after a mRNA vaccine (Pfizer and Moderna) and Guillain-Barré syndrome and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) after viral vector vaccines (AstraZeneca),” The BMJ reported. “The study also confirmed significantly higher risks of myocarditis following the first, second, and third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as well as pericarditis after the first and fourth dose of Moderna vaccine, and third dose of AstraZeneca vaccine in the 42 days following vaccination.”
Bell said myocarditis from the vaccines is primarily a problem with teen and young adult males. He said it is not a problem those over 65, and people in that age group should not be afraid of getting a vaccine that could do them some good.
Authors of the vaccine study concluded that the risks are far outweighed by the benefits.