South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
A new wave of COVID-19
Here’s what you can do to prepare for the BA.2 subvariant of omicron
By Tara Parker-Pope and Knvul Sheikh
The next wave of COVID-19 is coming, and in some parts of the United States, it’s already here. Are you ready?
The culprit this time is BA.2, a subvariant of the highly infectious omicron variant. Nobody knows for sure how much havoc it will cause, but BA.2 has already led to a surge of cases in Europe and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the United States and around the world.
Researchers are tracking an uptick in cases in the United States, and they’ve detected a rise in the viral particles recovered from nearly 150 wastewater-surveillance sites. Because people can shed the coronavirus even if they never develop symptoms, pieces of the virus collected in wastewater can serve as advance warning several days before official case counts rise, said Bronwyn MacInnis, who directs pathogen genomic surveillance at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Over the past two weeks, MacInnis’ group has seen a rapid increase in levels of the BA.2 subvariant in the Northeast.
“I don’t think we’re looking at a crazy lockdown scenario in this part of the world with BA.2,” MacInnis said. “But we can’t be sure that we won’t have another curveball from this virus in the future.”
U.S. health officials have said they are hopeful that BA.2 won’t cause another major surge, in part because so many people were infected by the original omicron wave this winter and most likely have at least some natural or vaccine immunity to protect them against severe illness and hospitalization.
But other variables could turn the BA.2 wave into a more damaging surge. One concern is that less than 70% of Americans over 65 have had a first booster shot, leaving a large group vulnerable, said
Dr. Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California. And for many people who got their booster shots in the fall, immune protection may be waning. Unvaccinated people who are counting on natural immunity from a previous infection by a different variant should know that BA.2 can easily sidestep those fading immune defenses.
While the virus is unpredictable, there are clear ways to protect yourself. Here’s what you can do to prepare.
Don’t wait for public health officials to issue warnings. Keep an eye on COVID-19 statistics for your county or region. An easy way to do this is to check the color-coded map from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that shows community levels of COVID-19 around the country. The map is mostly a welcoming green right now, which means there are relatively low rates of new cases and hospital admissions. But there is a growing number of yellow spots, showing medium risk, in Texas, the Northeast and other areas, and orange-colored hot spots are cropping up in Montana, the Dakotas and other states, indicating high rates of community spread.
As the map shifts to yellow and eventually orange in your area, it’s time to take extra precautions, including donning masks in public spaces and rethinking large indoor gatherings.
Another useful indicator is your community’s positive test rate. Experts advise taking more precautions as you see positive test rates start to rise above 5%. The Johns Hopkins coronavirus resource center shows daily U.S. and stateby-state testing trends.
Even if you’re not wearing a mask now, check your mask supply and make sure you have plenty of high-quality medical-style masks on hand. A limited number of free N95 respirator masks are available at pharmacies and community centers. Enter your
ZIP code on the CDC’s mask locator to find a distributor near you.
Since many communities have lifted mask mandates, when and how often you use a mask is probably going to be up to you.
“The mask needs to go on when you start seeing case numbers going back up,” said Linsey Marr, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech and one of the world’s leading experts on viral transmission.
Each U.S. household is eligible for two sets of four home COVID tests free from the government; if you haven’t ordered them yet, get them now before the weather turns warm. The tests can be damaged by heat, and you don’t want yours sitting for hours in a mail truck on a hot day.
“Now is better than a month from now, especially for people in hot locations,” said Dr. Michael Mina, chief science officer for eMed, a company that verifies at-home test results. “Just take advantage of the program, get them and put them in your cupboard for when you need them.”
People with insurance can also be reimbursed for eight free tests a month. If you develop respiratory symptoms, have a fever or just feel unusually fatigued, use a test on the first day of symptoms. If symptoms persist and you still test negative at home a few days later, you may want to get a lab-based PCR test.
Federal regulators have authorized a second booster shot for everyone 50 and older. The agency also authorized a second booster for people 12 and older with certain immune deficiencies.
While scientists are still debating the value of another booster, most say that people 65 and older and the immune compromised are likely to benefit. If you haven’t gotten your first booster shot, experts agree you should get one now. If you’ve recently had COVID, you most likely have as much natural protection as you’d get from a booster shot — at least for a while.
The protective antibodies from a vaccine or an infection tend to wane in four or five months. A well-timed booster shot tells the body to bump up its antibody defenses and helps other parts of the immune system become better at remembering how to fight the virus, said Theodora Hatziioannou, a virus expert at Rockefeller University in New York City.
A pulse oximeter is a small device that clips on your finger and measures your blood oxygen levels. When levels drop to 92 or lower, patients should see a doctor. Low oxygen can be a sign of COVID pneumonia and may raise your risk for serious complications from COVID-19. The devices can be less reliable for people with darker skin, so pay attention to downward trends as well as the number.