Covid is here to stay! Don't ignore symtoms, get tested & follow isolation rules to manage the virus better

GEELONG (AUSTRALIA): Changes to isolation rules remove the mandate for people to isolate if they test positive for COVID.

Isolation requirements will remain for high-risk settings such as aged care, disability care, Aboriginal health care and hospitals. Workers in these sectors who can't access paid leave while isolating will still be able to access financial support, but pandemic payments won't be available to the rest of the population.

While isolation won't be mandatory for most, it's still important to be aware of your own infection risk and be careful around others if you test positive for COVID or have respiratory symptoms.


Should you still test?
If you're worried you've been exposed to someone with the virus, or start to see symptoms, it's always better to know your COVID status. Ignoring it can put yourself and others at risk.

Knowing you're COVID positive is especially critical for people who are at greater risk of severe infection because they are severely immunocompromised, aged over 50 (or over 30 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) with two additional risk factors, or those aged 70 and above. A positive test enables people in these groups to access antivirals, which need to begin within five days of symptom onset.

Antivirals can prevent an infection escalating into a severe illness or hospitalisation. A recent Israeli study of the antiviral Paxlovid found it effectively reduced COVID severity in people 65 and over infected with Omicron. Hospitalisation rates dropped from 58.9 per 100,000 days of follow-up to 14.7. This is a four-fold decrease and comparable to rates in younger adults.

If you are at-risk and have symptoms, try to get a PCR test, if possible, as this can detect an infection earlier than a rapid antigen test (RAT).

I've tested positive, so how long should I isolate?
The infectious period starts a day or two before symptoms and can continue for more than ten days. As time goes on, the viral load drops away, so you're less infectious.

The general advice used to be to isolate until 48 hours after symptoms resolve. But many infections may not have obvious symptoms, and some symptoms continue after the infection, so so it's worth monitoring using a RAT.

RATs perform best a few days into an infection. So while they may not pick up all infections initially, they can indicate whether you are still infectious at the end of your infection.

A recent US study of mostly young, vaccinated people concluded that for people with lingering mild symptoms, such as a persistent dry cough, a negative RAT could guide when it was safe to stop isolating. However, half those with a positive RAT didn't appear to be infectious.

Still, it's better to err on the side of caution if you work in high-risk settings or mix with people vulnerable to serious disease.

Isolate while you have symptoms in summer
Symptoms remain an important way to identify risk. As we move out of the cold and flu season, there will be fewer other respiratory infections around. So coughs with fever will more likely be a sign of COVID and should be assumed so, regardless of testing.

A March 2022 UK survey reported 1,687 of 6,260 of infections, or just over one-quarter of those with known symptom status, were in people without symptoms. What's more, 1,343 people tested positive who did have symptoms, but did not have typical COVID symptoms. So, just under half of the infections detected in this study might not have been recognised as COVID infections without testing.

Due to high rates of vaccination and previous infection, a larger proportion of people with COVID may be asymptomatic rather than having tell-tale symptoms.

Monitoring for COVID symptoms will therefore not identify all infections. So take care, especially when around vulnerable people

Beyond Delta: Scientist Track Other Coronavirus Variants With Potential Threat

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The continued spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spawned a Greek alphabet of variants - a naming system used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to track concerning new mutations of the virus that causes COVID-19. Some have equipped the virus with better ways of infecting humans or evading vaccine protection.

Scientists remain focused on Delta, now the dominant variant around the world, but are tracking others to see what may one day take its place.

The continued spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spawned a Greek alphabet of variants - a naming system used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to track concerning new mutations of the virus that..

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The Delta variant first detected in India remains the most worrisome. It is striking unvaccinated populations in many countries and has proven capable of infecting a higher proportion of vaccinated people than its predecessors.

The WHO classifies Delta as a variant of concern, meaning it has been shown capable of increasing transmissibility, causing more severe disease or reducing the benefit of vaccines and treatments.

According to Shane Crotty, a virologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego, Delta's "superpower" is its transmissibility. Chinese researchers found that people infected with Delta carry 1,260 times more virus in their noses compared with the original version of the coronavirus. Some U.S. research suggests that the viral load in vaccinated individuals who become infected with Delta is on par with those who are unvaccinated, but more research is needed.

While the original coronavirus took up to seven days to cause symptoms, Delta can cause symptoms two to three days faster, giving the immune system less time to respond and mount a defense.

The Delta variant first detected in India remains the most worrisome. It is striking unvaccinated populations in many countries and has proven capable of infecting a higher proportion of vaccinated p..

Read More

The Lambda variant had attracted attention as a potential new threat, but this version of the coronavirus, first identified in Peru in December, appears to be receding.

Although cases involving Lambda were rising in July, reports of this variant have been falling globally for the past four weeks, according to data by GISAID, a database that tracks SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The WHO classifies Lambda as a variant of interest, meaning it carries mutations suspected of causing a change in transmissibility or causing more severe disease, but it is still under investigation. Lab studies show it has mutations that resist vaccine-induced antibodies.

The Lambda variant had attracted attention as a potential new threat, but this version of the coronavirus, first identified in Peru in December, appears to be receding.Although cases involving Lambda..

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Mu, the variant formerly known as B.1.621, was first identified in Colombia in January. On Aug. 30, the WHO designated it as a variant of interest due to several concerning mutations, and assigned a Greek letter name to it.

Mu carries key mutations, including E484K, N501Y and D614G, that have been linked with increased transmissibility and reduced immune protection.

According to the WHO's Bulletin published last week, Mu has caused some larger outbreaks in South America and Europe. While the number of genetic sequences identified as Mu have fallen below 0.1% globally, Mu represents 39% of variants sequenced in Colombia and 13% in Ecuador, places where its prevalence has "consistently increased," WHO reported.

The global health agency said it continues to monitor Mu for changes in South America, especially in areas where it is co-circulating with the Delta variant. Maria van Kerkhove, head of WHO's emerging diseases unit, said circulation of the variant is decreasing globally but needs to be observed closely. In a press briefing last week, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said U.S. officials are watching it, but so far Mu is not considered an immediate threat.

Mu, the variant formerly known as B.1.621, was first identified in Colombia in January. On Aug. 30, the WHO designated it as a variant of interest due to several concerning mutations, and assigned a ..

Read More

Getting more people vaccinated against COVID-19 is critical as large groups of unvaccinated people give the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate into new variants.

That effort must be stepped up internationally to keep variants from emerging unchecked among the populations of poor nations where very few people have been inoculated, experts say.

Even so, while the current vaccines prevent severe disease and death, they do not block infection. The virus is still capable of replicating in the nose, even among vaccinated people, who can then transmit the disease through tiny, aerosolized droplets.

To defeat SARS-CoV-2 will likely require a new generation of vaccines that also block transmission, according to Dr. Gregory Poland, a vaccine developer at the Mayo Clinic. Until then, Poland and other experts say, the world remains vulnerable to the rise of new coronavirus variants.

Getting more people vaccinated against COVID-19 is critical as large groups of unvaccinated people give the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate into new variants.That effort must be stepped u..

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Masks work when Omicron exposure risk is high
In the UK during Delta and the Omicron BA.1 waves, surveys of randomly selected participants reported 13-36% higher infections rates in people who said they only sometimes wore masks (4.3%) or rarely wore them (5.2%) compared with those who said they always wore masks (3.8%).

This gap diminished after the Omicron BA.1 peak, as infections declined.

But masks do help reduce the risk of infection with Omicron, especially when infection rates are high.

So when you're in crowded indoor spaces such as public transport, it's best to assume the virus is present and mask up.

Why avoid infection? Long COVID can be debilitating
Although things have improved in terms of severe acute disease, minimising risk of infection remains important given the risk of long COVID, which can be debilitating for some, even after mild infections.

Among Omicron infections, 4.5% of 56,003 people experienced long COVID. This compares with 10.8% of 41,361 Delta cases.

However, vaccination reduces the risk. Studies show vaccinated people are 60% less likely to develop long COVID than unvaccinated people, and 70% less likely after a booster dose.

COVID is here to stay
The removal of isolation mandates does not mean we ignore COVID, or stop isolating, or give up managing the risk we might pose to others. It will take ongoing efforts to manage the risks individually and globally.

Vaccines help reduce severe illness and long COVID. But with infections already on the rise overseas and other Omicron sub-variants emerging, we need to be thinking ahead.

This is now the long game, so monitoring our exposure risk, being aware of our symptoms, testing when we suspect we have been exposed, and isolating when we need to, will continue to be the best way to protect ourselves, and those around us.

(The article has been shared by PTI via The Conversation)