COVID Now
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/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2022

COVID Now

As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on society recede, we must recognize that health risks remain, particularly for older individuals and those with compromising health conditions. Fortunately, the mortality and rate of severe illness have declined with the use of vaccines and treatments. Here is the latest.

  • COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. are rising, similar to last year at this time
  • One difference is that hospitalizations are primarily limited to people above 65 this season due in part to population immunity from vaccination and prior infection(s)
  • Models forecast continued growth in hospitalizations through January
  • An increase in illness from other respiratory viruses has put a severe strain on hospitals
  • New variants are not causing worse disease thus far

Mitigation and prevention

  • Doctors and epidemiologists continue to recommend risk assessment in considering mitigation measures such as masking and avoiding crowds
  • Someone above the age of 65 or who has an underlying medical condition may choose to wear an N95 mask whenever in public, whereas a healthy, young person may choose to mask only when in crowded areas or not at all
  • In addition to age and underlying health, a risk assessment includes one's tolerance for becoming ill
  • No one, whether they are at risk for severe disease or not, wants to be ill while on vacation or during another significant event and thus may choose to mask for several days prior

Risk

  • Risk can be a difficult concept
  • Take, for example, a situation in which there is a 5% chance you will be exposed, perhaps attending a crowded, indoor venue
  • Many healthy people may elect to take that chance
  • However, there is a cumulative effect when the activity is repeated
  • If the individual attends the same venue 15 times, that 5% chance increases to a greater than 50% chance of exposure

Vaccine

  • There are demonstrable benefits to the individual and the community in remaining up to date with COVID-19 vaccine recommendations
  • Those who are up to date with the vaccine and become infected have a
    • Shorter duration of illness, and
    • Reduced severity of disease
  • They are also less likely to experience long-term sequelae from the disease
  • The COVID-19 vaccine schedule continues to be modified and will likely become an annual series

Trey Dobson, MD, is the chief medical officer at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care, in Bennington. 

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How to Maintain a Healthy Immune System

There are so many things that we have little control over. We can't control what genes we get, how old we are, or what viruses are circulating in our environment, but there is a lot we can do to prevent illness. Remarkably, many of the same habits that protect you from diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease also help your immune system fight infections.

Most viruses can't hurt you until they get inside your body. So, we can help our immune system if we avoid viruses and cut off the ways they travel. Viruses can spread through the air, but not usually for very far. Keep your distance—at least 6 feet—from others, and be a good neighbor by wearing a mask in all public areas.

Viruses that cause the most common illnesses—respiratory infections, including the common cold, flu, and the new COVID-19—travel into the body through your mouth, nose, and eyes and make their way to the areas they infect, like the lungs. The best way to break this chain is to clean your hands frequently, and don't touch your face with hands that have touched anything else. In addition, you can reduce the number of viruses in your environment by cleaning frequently touched objects with a bleach- or alcohol-based cleaner.

Vaccinations are your next line of defense. Immunizations, like the flu shot, introduce a small and harmless part of a virus or bacteria. The vaccine gives your immune system an opportunity to make antibodies against the virus. A vaccinated immune system responds more quickly and effectively when illnesses are introduced. What's more, when we all get vaccinated, we decrease the likelihood that anyone will get sick. If you are unsure about whether you or your children are up to date on their vaccinations, call your primary care provider’s office.

Your third line of defense is living a healthy lifestyle. It is clear that the same things that help the rest of our bodies function also improve the strength of our immune response. Likewise, things that hinder our bodies' ability to function compromise the immune system.

Regular exercise might be the most powerful way to maintain a healthy immune system. By increasing heart rate and blood flow, we allow the cells and substances of the immune system to move through the body freely and do their job efficiently. Similarly, things that slow the movement of cells and substances, like smoking or drinking alcohol in excess, may decrease the body’s ability to function and decreases the immune response, as well.

Getting adequate sleep may also positively affect the immune response. Chronic sleep deprivation has been shown to decrease the beneficial boost in immunity from vaccinations.

Our emotional state, too—whether we are stressed, lonely, or depressed, for instance—affects our immune response so much that a relatively new specialty called psychoneuroimmunology now studies the connection. One pioneering study, conducted in the early 1980s, found that college students operating within a stressful 3-day exam period had fewer of the cells that fight tumors and viral infections. In simple terms, the students almost stopped producing immunity boosters and infection fighters.

Finally, physicians have concluded that eating a mostly plant-based diet—including fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, and lean protein—supports overall health and may also support immunity. Nutritious foods include important vitamins that the immune system needs to function, such as beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc. Note, however, that supplements that claim to improve immune function have not yet been shown to do so to the extent necessary to protect against infection and disease. It is better to eat whole foods that are rich in vitamins rather than take supplements.

Always consult with your provider before making changes to your exercise plan or trying a new supplement and if you have any medical concerns. Physicians and the other professionals working in their offices also provide help for developing a plan for a healthier life. Call your primary care office or 802-447-5007 to find a primary care provider.

Healthy habits, like those that protect your body from disease and infection, are not always easy to adopt or maintain. Perhaps knowing just how important they are to maintaining a healthy immune response will provide the extra motivation necessary to make them a priority.

Kim Fodor, MD, is an internal medicine physician at SVMC Internal Medicine.

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