By now, the entire world is familiar with the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns and quarantine became a part of daily life in 2020 and much of 2021. In August 2021, school was back in session at FCHS with some restrictions. Two years later, many people think of COVID as an unpleasant bygone they’d rather not revisit.
With vaccines, medication, and protocol, citizens of the world have found ways to manage the infectious disease with some caveats. For example, during the pandemic masks were mandatory in most public spaces due to mandates in 39 of the 50 American states. According to the National Library of Medicine, statewide mask mandates had helped reduce COVID-19 cases by 55% in December 2020, a year after the pandemic started.
In the last several weeks, many people in Fluvanna and the surrounding areas such as Gordonsville and Charlottesville have experienced an uptick in colds and infections, leading some to fear a COVID-19 resurgence. Some may even be worried about whether another lockdown might be in the future.
However, according to Dr. Jesse Goodman, a professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, told NBC Washington, doctors are seeing “an uptick in infection nationally, an uptick in emergency room visits and hospitalizations, but it is nothing to the kind of level that was experienced earlier in the COVID epidemic.”
In fact, according to the Virginia Department of Health, just over 2% of emergency department visits in Virginia were diagnosed for COVID-19 in the week ending Sept. 23, a drop of nearly 7% from the week prior.
Some feel that society in general is better prepared for preventing and managing the virus, even if there is a significant resurgence. For example, most already know the protocol that if you develop symptoms of COVID-19 you should test and isolate for five full days starting on the day after you tested positive for the virus. They already have ample experience in knowing that if you test positive you should wear a high quality mask around others to lessen the spread, distance from others in public and within your home, and seek .
The CDC also warns if your symptoms worsen or you struggle to breathe, seek emergency medical treatment.
Given that the public is overall better informed about COVID-19, and that the virus has mutated to be less virulent than the original strain, claims that another lockdown is on the way are generally not supported by medical officials. In an article published by Factcheck.org (a public policy monitoring website to track misinformation,) epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina noted “We aren’t returning to March 2020; our immune systems will still recognize the highly mutated variant, albeit suboptimally,” and added that “this will protect a lot of us from severe disease.”
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new COVID-19 vaccine booster aimed at targeting the XBB.1.5 subvariant. But should you get the booster?
That really depends on many factors, including your age, medical history, and other risk factors. The best course is probably to check with your physician, but if you want to do your own research, visit the CDC website. Also, check out these indepth articles about the new vaccine at Health.com and MedPageToday.com.
