No, COVID-19 isn't over. But thanks to vaccinations, the situation is improving

Dr. Jeff Hersh
·4 min read
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Q:  Is the whole COVID-19 crisis finally done?

A:  No! It's true that things are definitely better now than they were at the height of the pandemic. But this improvement should not let us forget how devastating COVID-19 has been and that it continues to cause issues for many people:

  • Since the pandemic began in the U.S., there have been about 100 million known cases of COVID-19 (and of course there were many cases where no testing was done and so they may not have been categorized, so the total number is likely much higher than this) and about 1.1 million deaths from it.

  • At the height of the pandemic, on Jan 20, 2022, there were 153,000 people hospitalized due to COVID-19, and although things are much better now, on Nov. 30 there were still about 30,000 Americans hospitalized with COVID-19.

  • On Feb. 4, deaths from COVID-19 peaked at about 4,000. Thankfully, this has gone way down, but on Nov 30, more than 450 Americans still died of the illness.

Dr. Jeff Hersh
Dr. Jeff Hersh

Another concerning aspect of COVID-19 is the risk of developing "long COVID," a condition in which prolonged, persistent symptoms last beyond the initial days to up to four weeks from the acute infection. Symptoms of long COVID may include fatigue, body aches/pains, mood swings, difficulty concentrating (often described as "foggy" thinking), certain psychological symptoms (for example anxiety, depression, PTSD, others), shortness of breath/cough and/or other breathing issues, loss of taste and/or smell, and many other possible symptoms. The specific long COVID symptoms someone may develop, and how long they last, vary quite a bit from patient to patient.

Although the exact prevalence of long COVID is not known, it is known that long COVID is overall very common, being even more common in patients who had more severe illness from their acute infection:

  • Up to three quarters of patients requiring ICU care for their COVID had at least one long COVID symptom a year after their hospitalization.

  • Of all hospitalized patients, more than a third needed assistance for a month or more after their hospital discharge just to do one or more of their normal activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating, transferring (for example getting in/out of bed), going to the toilet, grooming (for example, brushing their teeth/hair, etc.) and walking.

  • Even patients with milder symptoms not requiring hospitalization are at risk for long COVID, with up to one in five having at least one symptom persisting for 6 months or more, and over 5% having a cluster (three or more) of long COVID symptoms.

The decreases we have seen in COVID-19 infections are in large part due to the vaccine:

  • The good news is that overall, more than 650 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S., with over 80% of the population having received at least one dose (including over 95% of people over age 65), and almost 70% having received the full vaccination series of, for example, three doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines (including almost 94% of those over age 65).

  • The bad news is that we are not doing as well with boosters, which are needed to maintain appropriate immunity and also to give added protection against some of the new variants. Under 10% of the population is completely boosted, including under a third of those over age 65.

Vaccinations are known to decrease the chance of getting COVID-19, and even if you get it they decrease the risk of the illness being more severe. As noted above, vaccinations are the major reason the number of people affected by COVID-19 has decreased as much as it has.

In addition, vaccinations (including booster shots) mitigate against possible long COVID. Data show that vaccination decreases the risk of developing long COVID, independent of the severity of illness you may get from your acute infection (so it helps whether you get mild or severe illness). In addition, some data note that patients with long COVID symptoms may have their symptoms lessen and/or resolve more quickly if they get vaccinated.

From this we can see that despite the overall decline in cases, COVID-19 remains an issue, not only making people acutely ill (with too many still requiring hospitalization and/or dying), but too often causing the debilitating symptoms of long COVID. And of course, a more contagious strain of COVID-19, possibly even one that causes more severe symptoms, is always possible. So please get vaccinated, including getting those booster shots.

Jeff Hersh, Ph.D., M.D., can be reached at DrHersh@juno.com

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Dr. Jeff Hersh urges vaccination as COVID-19 remains a threat