We are steadily approaching flu season in North Texas, but that’s not the only respiratory illness folks should be vigilant about — COVID-19 infections and emergency department visits are also on the rise.
Texas is one of 47 states where COVID infections are growing,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state's seeing a moderate increase in emergency room visits related to COVID and wastewater monitoring shows that viral activity for COVID-19 in Texas is "very high."
Dr. Trish Perl, a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center who specializes in infectious diseases, recently told NTX Now's Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning that North Texas is in the early days of a "seasonal epidemic."
"What we're seeing right now are positive tests, a few hospitalizations here and there, but it's early on," she said. "I think it's a little early for us to say, 'Is this more severe or less severe?' We just really, at this point, don't have that much information. Even if it seems like it's less severe to me or you, if you're somebody who's immunocompromised, it can be absolutely extremely life-threatening, and so it depends also on your perspective and your underlying condition as to how that may manifest for you."
Perl also noted that it’s been hard to track when COVID cases will spike. We know that the fall is flu season and can generally anticipate an uptick in respiratory illnesses, but COVID is not quite as predictable.
"Last year, it was more early fall, but prior to that, we had some summer waves," she said. "We have less of a sense of what the sort of classic epidemiology of when we're going to see this is going to be. The current pattern is consistent with last year, and so I think we'll have to wait and see."
But Perl said COVID is starting to act like a typical respiratory virus that spreads more in the fall and winter.
"We'll just have to really follow it over the next few years to see if the pattern continues in this direction," she said.
That’s why she’s urging people to update their COVID booster sooner rather than later.
"I am a firm believer in vaccines and I think that the data continue to show that the COVID vaccines are excellent," she said.
Misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID vaccine has impacted vaccination rates, and Perl says she and others in the medical community are actively trying to change that narrative.
"We are concerned that people are less likely to sort of embrace this and whatever we can do to to make them feel more comfortable, to give them the information that they need so that they understand why we're making these recommendations and what are the risks and benefits of vaccine, we should be doing," she said. "The data just suggests that these are great vaccines. They really protect people."
You can get an updated COVID booster at most CVS and Walgreens locations, from your primary care provider, or find another location near you by visiting vaccines.gov.
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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