Three Things Thursday

~I STILL have COVID~

Given that we are living through THREE global health emergencies (COVID, polio, and monkeypox), new vaccines are being approved, new outbreaks are occurring, and the reality that being healthy is truly a radical selfless act of loving others (read: we need to redefine what it means to be healthy), “Three Things Thursday” highlights three things I am paying attention to as an epidemiologist each week.

Hoping these posts help to educate and empower you to be healthy and create healthy communities.

Here we go… Three Things Thursday — the I ~STILL~ have COVID edition.

After eight days of illness, I am still testing positive for COVID, still have a scratchy throat, and am still isolated. As I was preparing to teach my first two classes of the semester remotely yesterday, I shared this on Instagram —

“Getting ready to teach my first two classes — REMOTELY … I am still COVID+.

Therefore, to break the chain of transmission, to protect others, and to create a healthy community — I am staying home and isolating.

Would I rather teach in-person? YES!

Am I stressed and disappointed? YES!

But I stay home because that is what I need to do to get better and to not pass the virus on to others. This needs to be normalized. We all need to stay home when we are sick to protect others. It is an act of love. Aimed at creating healthy communities for all.”

I am feeling better — definitely the result of amazing beet/chocolate muffins, popsicles, and some rich veggie broth that sweet friends shared with me. I am taking unmasked walks outside. And our kids are back to school; they have had negative COVID tests. I will test again tomorrow morning… ~fingers crossed~

New COVID Booster Shots

Yesterday the FDA granted Pfizer and Moderna a EUA (emergency use authorization) for the use of their new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters. Both of the new boosters include the mRNA from the BA.4/BA.5 Omicron subvariant. Preliminary data from both companies show that the new booster increases the immune response to the specific variants that are causing the majority of disease right now. The EUA allows the Pfizer booster to be administered to individuals 12 and older and the Moderna booster to be administered to individuals 18 and older. A representative from Pfizer has indicated that a new booster shot for children aged 5-11 would be ready for EUA approval in early- to mid-October.

FDA has passed the baton to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). ACIP is meeting as I type (I’m attempting to multi-task; am watching the ACIP meeting on my iPad and putting this together on my laptop). You can watch the meeting online. The ACIP is set to vote on whether or not to approve the Pfizer and Moderna boosters later this afternoon (~4:30pm ET). After the vote, I will provide a summary of the meeting along with recommendations for fall booster shots. Be sure you are subscribed so that you do not miss this information.

If I were a betting person — I would put money on the ACIP approving the new booster shots this afternoon. And they will likely make recommendations that individuals should get their new booster at least two months after their most recent vaccine or infection with COVID (whichever was most recent). We will see…

Decrease In Life Expectancy

For the second year in a row, the life expectancy (defined as the average number of years a newborn can expect to live given the prevailing death rate¹) in the United States decreased. NOTE: this is the first time life expectancy has dropped two years in a row in over 100 years.

Source. Please also note the gap that exists between males and females. A male born in 2021 has a life expectancy of 73.2 years; a female 79.1 years.

A baby born in the United States in 2019 would be expected to live to 79 years (on average); a baby born in 2020 would be expected to live to (only) 77 years, and in 2021 the baby would be expected to live to 76.1 years.

Decreasing life expectancy is an indicator of an unhealthy community.

These are concerning data. And they are a clear reminder that COVID’s impact on the health and safety of our communities will continue long after the pandemic ends.

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Have questions about other public health issues in the news — polio, West Nile Virus, influenza, or something else? Please ask!

And stay tuned for updates about the new COVID booster…

1. Life expectancy is a quantitative/numerical health indicator used to identify the health status of populations and to decide priorities for clinical research and public health practice. Life expectancy data answers questions about disease severity and creates a way to compare deaths across populations or between different time periods.