- 7 hours ago
ESSENCE Senior, Lifestyle Editor, Victoria Uwumarogie speaks with four doctors about the latest on COVID variants and vaccines.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hey everybody, Victoria Umarogi here, the lifestyle editor for Essence magazine and
00:05happy new year. This is the first wellness check of the new year of 2022. And while it's
00:10a new year, great things to look forward to, you know, new possibilities. We are still
00:15talking about COVID guys. It's more than two years later. We have variants. We do have vaccines.
00:21We also have a lot of questions and we wanted to bring together some of the best doctors from
00:25around the nation to kind of help us answer them, to give us peace of mind and if nothing else to
00:29give us a great plan, you know, moving forward about how we should proceed to protect ourselves
00:33and our loved ones. So joining us today, hello everyone, we have with us Dr. Cameron Webb.
00:40He's a senior policy advisor for the COVID-19 equity White House COVID-19 response team,
00:46and which is part of the executive office of the president. We have Dr. Liz Claiborne. She's an
00:51adjunct assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
00:57We have Dr. Darian Sutton, board-certified emergency medicine physician and ABC News medical
01:02contributor and correspondent, and Dr. Pamela Sims Mackey. She's the chair of pediatrics and chief
01:08of graduate medical education at Alameda Health System in Oakland. Thank you guys so much for being
01:13here today to talk with us. Oh, I forgot everybody's muted, but yes, thank you guys for being here.
01:20So we're going to go ahead and get started because there's a lot of information out there that people
01:24are trying to take in and understand about COVID, about Omicron, about Fluron, about all these things
01:29that we're seeing in the media, and it can create some confusion. So I'm really excited to talk with
01:33you guys to kind of clear some things up and get understanding. So starting first, we're going to
01:37chat with Dr. Webb. I've been talking with people and something mentioned was that, you know, individuals
01:44have heard that Omicron causes less severe illness, and therefore they're seeing it as something that's
01:48maybe not as serious, per se, as Delta, as a Delta variant. And so what do we need to understand about
01:54Omicron that maybe we're just not getting right now? Well, first off, I'm excited to be here for
01:59this conversation, and this is a question I get often. And so I'd start off by saying that statistics
02:05can get a little bit tricky. They can tell you the story of how something's playing out over a
02:09population, but not necessarily how it applies to you. So my advice to loved ones, to family, to folks in
02:16my community, and more generally to the public, is to take Omicron very seriously. You know, while
02:22while we may see that more people are having asymptomatic infections, fewer people are requiring
02:27ventilators, some of that has to do with the level of population-wide immunity we have, with the
02:31vaccination effort, and some of that, quite frankly, doesn't apply to individuals because we still do
02:37see individuals being hospitalized. We still do see folks who are dying from COVID-19, over 1500 folks
02:43each day, over the last week. And so again, it remains a really serious deal. One thing about
02:48COVID to keep in mind, as you mentioned, we've been at this for two years, but it can be incredibly
02:53unpredictable, and unpredictable in the sense of how it's going to specifically impact you.
02:58So for me, I wouldn't roll those dice. I would say, make sure that you have the best protection that
03:03you can possibly have. That includes, you know, immunologic protection by having the vaccine,
03:08by having a booster. We know that's your best bet against Omicron to keep you safe, keep you from
03:13requiring hospitalization or from dying. But also make sure you're wearing masks. Also make sure you're
03:18avoiding those crowded spaces. Those are keys to keeping yourself safe, because again, you know,
03:23we are seeing some folks get pretty sick. And also, even if you don't end up in the hospital
03:27or worse, you may end up with long COVID symptoms. And nobody wants to have
03:32an illness for weeks or months on end. So make sure you take care of yourself.
03:35Awesome. Very true. And Dr. Claiborne, I see you wanted to chime in briefly.
03:40Yeah, I just wanted to add because, you know, I'm actually currently going through my own COVID
03:44infection right now. And I'm an emergency physician. And so I have been battling this on the front lines
03:50for almost two years. And I have a 19 month old and a three year old at home. So I actually gave birth
03:54after the first wave and I've been working so diligently to try to keep not my only myself
04:00safe, but my family safe. You know, my two young children are under five and therefore unvaccinated.
04:04And I was really, you know, terrified when we all came up positive this last week.
04:08And I feel extremely grateful that our symptoms have been mild and we seem to be improving.
04:14And so that is consistent with the trend that people are seeing that there are mild symptoms. But I have
04:18to tell you that that is juxtaposed to my experience when I was in work last week and when I will
04:23return to work this week, which is that there is sometimes utter chaos taking place in the ER.
04:28I go in there and there are people who are not doing well with COVID all the time, still getting
04:32placed on ventilators, children who I'm having to, you know, airlift to a children's hospital who are
04:37doing very poorly. And it is primarily that unvaccinated population that are doing poorly, but
04:42you just never know. So I do want to really emphasize what Dr. Webb talked about, that this is still
04:48a variant that everyone needs to take very seriously. And more importantly than that, we really need to
04:52continue to flatten the curve. A lot of people talked about just kind of letting this, you know,
04:56variant run rampant. So we get over it over with, but our symptoms, our systems are overrun. And so
05:02physicians like myself, we, I'm out of, you know, work this week. And that means that all my colleagues
05:06now are scrambling to cover my shifts and every hospital is dealing with that in every department.
05:10And it makes the emergency department and a lot of our health care services, you know, extremely
05:15stretched then. And that makes it dangerous for everyone else because they may not have the resources to get
05:19the care they need. So I'm just, you know, chiming in to let you know that even though my symptoms are
05:23mild, you know, that is not a reason to not take this variant very seriously. Everyone needs to stay
05:29diligent with masking, getting their booster and their vaccine if they haven't, and keeping themselves
05:33and their families safe. Very true. Very true. And moving over to Dr. Sutton, something that I've seen
05:39you discuss is that people right now, they're trying to understand flu-rona. And how does that show up
05:45in those who get it? And how can we protect ourselves? So if you can kind of break down
05:48what you mean about it, and how we can be cautious, you know, as we deal with
05:54Absolutely. And the cold and flu season.
05:58Absolutely. So if you've seen me talk about flu-rona, you understand my disdain for the
06:01word flu-rona. I understand that it is catchy. But as physicians, we like to just identify exactly what
06:07it is. So it is patients who unfortunately get a concomitant or an infection of the influenza virus and
06:14COVID-19 at the same time. And it's not that the flu and COVID-19 have met up in some backyard alley
06:21to team up and create some new disease. It is simply a result of the fact that we have an actively
06:26surging pandemic superimposed onto a flu season. And we have patients who unfortunately get both.
06:32It's important to know that we haven't seen any specific outcomes. It's not that this flu-rona is
06:38causing more harm. But it's also a reminder that we have vaccines to help protect us against both of
06:42these infections, the flu and COVID-19. And of course, if you haven't done so already,
06:47to go out and get both. And you can get both at the same time.
06:49Nice. And Dr. Simms-Mackey, you know, as Dr. Claiborne was talking about, she has 19-year-old,
06:5619-month-old and a three-year-old. I myself have a 19-month-old too. And it's very hard to know how to
07:01parent and move and how to keep kids safe. And especially at a time when there's been a surge in
07:05hospitalizations for children under five. So how can we protect our very young kids at a time when,
07:11you know, we're having to go back to work? There is no vaccine yet for children under five.
07:17And it's just a very scary time. We don't want to keep kids closed off in a corner in the house.
07:22So how do we proceed? How do you feel? And tell us about the hospitalizations that you've even seen.
07:28Yeah. So with children, especially the children that are not vaccinated under five,
07:33we do the same thing that we've done with any other infectious illness. We try to cocoon them
07:38or have the people around them be protected as best they can. So as pediatricians, we are recommending
07:44that all family members and siblings who are eligible to be vaccinated get vaccinated. I always
07:49say I'm a pediatrician. We're in the vaccine business. We know vaccines work. And so we encourage
07:54that. We encourage people to do the same thing the other physicians on the phone, on the line have said.
08:00Wear your mask. You know, don't go out in crowded areas. Don't put yourself in a risky situation,
08:04especially if you do have young children. So really the way to protect them is to cocoon them
08:10and do all the things that we've been saying on this webinar.
08:14Okay. And Dr. Claiborne, you know, you touched on it. Your symptoms as you got
08:19Omicron were, you know, not too bad. And there are some people, because it's so transmissible and
08:24a lot of people are getting exposed to individuals who have been tested positive. They're scared.
08:29They don't have symptoms, but they're scared. They're jumping in lines, running out of tests.
08:34And so the question that I have for you is, how should people proceed if they've been exposed
08:38to someone who tested positive, but they're not experiencing symptoms? And how does that work
08:42with the COVID? I mean, the CDC's, you know, recommendations for isolation, which were at
08:471.10 days and then five days, you know, necessarily for different people.
08:51Yeah. I know that there's a lot of confusion about this and, you know, people have to understand that
08:56we're constantly, you know, reevaluating our guidelines because this is a moving target. And that,
09:02you know, coincides with the fact that we're now, you know, having to deal with Omicron,
09:06which is functioning a little bit different than prior variants. So at this point, what you should
09:11do is if you are fully vaccinated and boosted, that means you have the highest level of protection
09:16that we have available now. And you get, you know, COVID, then we're asking people to quarantine at
09:23home for a minimum of five days. And at five days, if you are symptom-free or your symptoms
09:29are resolving, meaning you haven't had a fever for more than 24 hours, then it is okay for you
09:33to enter public and limited, you know, capacity just for essential things that you need to do,
09:38but you must wear a mask for an additional five days. Now, if you are not fully vaccinated,
09:44then, you know, that puts you at a higher degree of risk. And so that's why we're requiring
09:48people to, you know, potentially, you know, quarantine for a longer period of time,
09:52the minimum of the five days up to 10 days. Now, there are a lot of questions about,
09:57so what do I do if I'm exposed to somebody, which is what you asked, that has had COVID.
10:03And I had that exact scenario happen in my family, right? So I and my entire family tested positive
10:09about six days ago. And the day before that, I had my father and my aunt over to my house. So they
10:14had a known exposure, you're actually most contagious before you become infectious. So
10:18that's an important caveat you have to remember. So what I told my dad to do is that he should
10:23quarantine for five days from that period of exposure and then test. And it is best to get
10:30a PCR test because the rapid tests tend to not be as accurate when you're not symptomatic. And so I
10:35found him a place to do a drive-through test, which I think is the safest way to do testing so that
10:40you're not standing in line in close proximity to other people. And then at that day five,
10:45when he gets his test, if it's negative, then he can proceed as if he has not been infected.
10:49Now, I do know that for a lot of people, it is hard to get a test right now. So if you don't have
10:54access to the test, you still would want to just quarantine and isolate yourself for the five days
10:58from the exposure, and then wear a mask for an additional five days. And that just is helping to
11:03prevent any potential exposure to other people in case you are infected and are having an
11:08asymptomatic infection. So I know this continues to be confusing. That's why I would just continue
11:13to go to the CDC website or ask your healthcare provider if you're not sure exactly what you
11:18should do in your specific scenario. But the best day, of course, is, you know, to remember,
11:23isolate for at least five days, test on day five if you can, and then mask for at least 10 days.
11:29Got you. And Dr. Sims-Macki, I know you wanted to briefly add to this.
11:34Yeah, I just wanted to briefly add as a primary care physician when we're
11:38talking. These are a lot of rules. We're learning new things every day. And I know it's hard for
11:42people to keep up to what am I supposed to do. But I do want to emphasize we don't want to
11:48overwhelm our emergency rooms. So I really would suggest people if they're not having severe symptoms,
11:54trouble breathing or things that would require emergency room visit to really contact their primary
11:59care physician to talk through all of these scenarios. Can you find a test? Can you not find a test?
12:04Do I need to go in? How long do I need to isolate? And a lot of this can be done. Thank goodness we
12:10have telehealth, you know, up and running now. A lot of this can be done over the phone with your
12:15physician. So we really want to save our emergency room for the patients who are severely ill and need
12:20to be there.
12:22Got you. And I want to jump in real fast with one of our viewer questions. It's a little complicated,
12:28but let's see what we can get. They want to know pretty much because they know people who got the
12:33booster and still got sick after getting the booster. So they're trying to ask, like, can you
12:39explain why that is? I'm not sure if that means they got sick necessarily with COVID or if it's just
12:44like the effects of, you know, getting the booster. But if that makes any sense, anybody can jump in. Yes,
12:51Dr. Seidman. Sure. So first off, this variant is highly transmissible. So it is very likely that you can get
12:58an infection regardless of your vaccine history status. But what your vaccines do is protect you
13:03mainly from being hospitalized and dying. You know, we have recent data coming out of Washington state
13:08that shows that those who are unvaccinated are more than two to three times more likely to get infected
13:12and more than 10 times more likely to be hospitalized. And that rate only goes up when the patients increase
13:18in age as those over the age of 65 are more than six times to get likely to get infected and more than
13:2415 times more likely to die secondary to COVID-19. So it just speaks to the benefit of these vaccines
13:29and how that benefit increases with age. So I want to tell this person who's asking the question,
13:34it is always likely impossible given this highly transmissible variant that you may have a breakthrough
13:39infection, but that infection stays in your home and most often can be treated with supportive
13:44measures right from your bathroom. So I want to encourage everyone that vaccines are still working
13:50incredibly and benefiting many people within the population. Gotcha. Nice.
13:55And just to piggyback off Dr. Sutton, because I think that's a great point about kind of what
14:00people should expect from vaccines. And remember the original endpoint that we were looking for was,
14:05you know, can it prevent the worst of what COVID can do? We have well over 800,000 people in the
14:10country who've died from COVID. So we know it can do some damage. And in particular, we also know it can
14:15lead to a lot of hospitalizations and strain our resources. And so, you know, for as much as we were
14:20excited that the vaccines were doing a pretty good job at preventing infection with the alpha variant
14:26earlier in the year, and even to an extent with the delta variant over the summer, Omicron's a little
14:31bit different. And we know that cases are rising across the country. And, you know, you mentioned the
14:36data from Washington, New York City also just released some data. So we're seeing that cases are rising,
14:41but it's no comparison. Cases are not rising nearly as much among vaccinated individuals
14:46as it is among unvaccinated folks. And for unvaccinated people, they still have this severe
14:51risk of hospitalization and death. And so I think it's just important for people to keep that in mind,
14:56that these vaccines are still doing their job. They're keeping people out of hospitals,
14:59keeping people from dying. And so I think those are critical dynamics, things that these vaccines
15:04were designed to do, and they're still working to that end. And boosters are a key part of that.
15:08And the portion of the question that asks, you know, hey, I know some people who got boosted
15:13and are feeling sick. We hear that all the time with the flu vaccine as well. People say,
15:16I got the flu shot and then I got the flu. No, that's your immune system telling you
15:20it's ready to fight should it come into contact with the actual virus. And so sometimes it's really
15:25just a matter of making sure you know that your body is ready to work. Like I had symptoms for
15:30about a day after my booster shot, and it was more than I had in the earlier versions.
15:35Interestingly, Moderna reduced their dose for the booster shot. So your booster shot is about half
15:40the dose of the original two shots. These are things that were done based in the science,
15:44knowing how either body works, how your immune system works, and ultimately making sure you get
15:49the most robust response to create neutralizing antibodies that can stop the virus in its tracks
15:54without compromising the ability for you to continue on about your life, making you too sick to move
16:00forward. Most people do pretty well with the boosters. Nice. Can I just jump in real quick?
16:05Because, you know, as a pediatrician, we're always explaining vaccines to families and who may have
16:10hesitancy. And a story that I try to tell my patients, especially the younger patients when
16:16they're asking, why do I need this vaccine? And I'm hearing people getting sick is I always say,
16:21well, let's just think of it like if you're going to Antarctica and it's very, very cold,
16:27are you going to walk outside with no coat, no jacket, no gloves on? No, you're going to get
16:31frostbite, you're going to lose some fingers. But the vaccine is like putting my coat on,
16:35putting my gloves on, keeping me as warm as possible. I still may be a little bit cold,
16:40so you still may be a little bit sick, but you're not going to lose your fingers and have those
16:44devastating consequences. And so I think that's a way for people to kind of understand all of these
16:48things we're talking about in medicine. Got you. So true. And we're going to go back to viewer
16:55questions a little closer to the end because we're starting to get a lot more. So we're moving back
16:59to the regularly scheduled program of things. Dr. Sutton, you know, what is symptomatic to be
17:04symptomatic exactly? Like people are getting things that run the gamut, you know, and so when you have
17:10something, maybe whether it's a sniffle or your throat is bothering you, like at what point do we
17:15need to go to the emergency room? And what point do we need to sit down and just kind of deal with it at
17:20home so that we're not, as Dr. Simpson, like he said, as well as Dr. Claiborne, you know,
17:25we're not overwhelming, you know, emergency rooms and spaces that are already stretched thin?
17:30That's a great question. You know, I meet patients every day that have a variety of symptoms secondary
17:34to COVID-19. So I'll say that there is no easy way to figure out whether or not you have COVID-19 or
17:41the flu or just the common cold. And right now in the setting of this high viral transmission within
17:46our communities, I always tell patients to act with the highest level of caution.
17:50If you have any new symptoms, a cough, sniffles, a fever, a diarrhea, these are all concerning
17:56signs and symptoms that you may have COVID-19. So I would act as if you do have it until proven
18:01otherwise with a really accurate test like a PCR test. Or if you have availability, you can take a
18:07rapid antigen in the first couple of days of those symptoms because that's when that rapid antigen would be
18:12the most accurate. For those patients who do test positive, I understand the fear, but I also want
18:18to advise that the majority of people who get this infection, especially regarding the Omicron variant,
18:23will be able to treat their symptoms from the comfort of their own couch. And if you feel like you can,
18:27I would advise to do just that. But of course, if you feel like you need the intervention of a medical
18:32provider like myself, then of course, come to the emergency room. And the most common thing that we see
18:37that we're mindful of is ER doctors and physicians when we're triaging patients. Secondary to COVID-19
18:43is making sure that their respiratory status is okay. But again, if you feel like your symptoms are
18:47beyond what you can treat by yourself, of course, an emergency room is an appropriate place. But
18:52as was just stated, our volumes are incredibly high right now. Our wait times inside of these emergency
18:58rooms are astronomical and we're trying our best to keep up, but it is incredibly difficult right now.
19:03And I just like to add as well that if you're having mild symptoms that are cold and it happens
19:10to not be COVID, when you come to the emergency department, there's a significant risk that you
19:14may get COVID. And one of the issues we're having in our ERs is our wait times are approaching 20 hours.
19:20And while we have people waiting out in their cars and we start trying to separate sick COVID symptoms
19:24from other patients, it is a very dangerous place to be and not somewhere I would want to be if I
19:30happen to be COVID negative. So I would encourage everyone to ask a healthcare provider if you have
19:37a tele triage or a nurse hotline or can call your primary care doctor and you're not sure if you need
19:42to be seen, ask someone before you go. Now, of course, if there is an emergency, you're feeling
19:46very short of breath or having chest pain, I completely agree. You need to show up to the ER and
19:50we will be happy to take care of you. But we're just cautioning everyone to not just come into the ER
19:54just because, because it's a possibility that if you were COVID negative, you will leave their COVID
20:00positive because of the number of people you'll be in contact with that are sick and waiting to be
20:05seen. Very true, very true. And moving to you, Dr. Webb, of those getting sick and very sick from
20:14Omicron, are people of color still disproportionately impacted with this variant? And what are you seeing
20:20also in your studies in regards to how that translates to the care that people of color
20:25are receiving and the access to vaccinations as well? Oh, hold on, you're muted.
20:36You would think I know how to use a teleconference at this point, but I was saying the pandemic has
20:41consistently stood on top of the existing systemic and structural inequalities and inequities in our
20:48society. And because of that, we continue to see disproportionate impact, but in different ways.
20:52And what I would say is that right now with Omicron, we're really seeing an increase in cases,
20:57particularly in the black community. And so we've seen the rise of cases in the black community
21:01really more than in any other community over the last month or so. But it's not uniform,
21:06it's not all across the country. You know, I was diving deep into these data last night,
21:10and it's in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
21:15Ohio and Illinois. That's where you see really the majority of young black folks. It's mostly 18
21:21to 29 or 30 to 39 where you see this really increased rate of getting COVID-19 in the black
21:28community. And so that tells us something epidemiologically, it tells us something
21:32about how and where this virus is moving and how it's moving through the black community. I think
21:37it's so important for us to also keep in mind the rates of vaccination, the rates of boosters,
21:42and also the rates of adherence to some of those mitigation measures like wearing masks and avoiding
21:47crowded places that we have to keep in mind in those communities. And so we are still seeing that
21:52case increase. One of the pieces of Omicron is that we know the hospitalization rate has increased,
21:58but not to the same extent. There's usually a little bit of a lag in the data with regard to
22:02deaths. So we're going to really see the toll in terms of mortality with Omicron over the next
22:08couple of weeks. There's usually a lag of about six weeks. And so we'll see that coming soon. But
22:13I think the hope is that because we have similar rates of vaccination, at least primary series among
22:19black adults, white adults, and Latino adults, hopefully that higher level of vaccination is
22:25going to prevent some of the deaths we otherwise would have seen. And so yes, the pandemic continues
22:30to impact different communities differently. I think it's our work to design around, again,
22:35the structural inequities, the fact that we're more so frontline workers, the fact that there's
22:39different levels of exposure, the fact that we're in communities or multi-generational,
22:44multi-family households where we have more contacts. These are all things that, you know,
22:48again, don't apply to everybody. I don't want to typecast the entire black community, but I will say
22:52that the proponents, we have more of this in our communities. And so because of that, we just have to
22:57be really mindful. We have to take extra caution in light of all those things. And also, I think similarly,
23:02our government needs to bring extra resources to these communities to make sure we're looking out.
23:07Gotcha. And Dr. Sims-Mackey, you know, Dr. Webb just talked about taking precautions,
23:11people trying to be careful. And one way people are trying to be careful is in schools. Some people
23:16are having the students go back to remote learning while they try to figure out things with Omicron
23:21right now. And that's caused a great debate. Some people want their kids in school. Some people,
23:26you know, they're like, no, I want to protect them and have them home. And so what is the safest
23:31way for kids to be able to return and stay in in-person learning during this ongoing pandemic?
23:36Because obviously, we know that there's so many great benefits, obviously, to them being in school
23:41with their teachers and their, you know, their classmates. Yeah, that is a really tough one.
23:47It's a really tough question because, as you know, we have kids in school who are not immunized. And we
23:53also have kids in school who are not fully immunized. And then we have our older kids who are just now
23:59coming into play where they can get their booster. It's been at least five months. And so they can get
24:03their booster shot. So we still have a vulnerable population in the school districts. And then you
24:08have the teachers who are there, various ages, some have underlying medical conditions, and I know they
24:12fear for their own health and safety. I think we do the best we can. But, you know, as it surges,
24:19I was looking at the data from the AAP, the American Academy of Pediatrics. And, you know, ending last week,
24:25the there were 17% of the new cases of COVID were in kids and kids under 18. And they only make up 22%
24:33of the population. So we're really seeing this surge in children. So I know some local school
24:38districts have chosen to kind of go to remote learning a little bit or hybrid learning for a
24:43while to kind of let this run its course and then try to get kids back safely in school. But we all know
24:48for the kids, you know, social emotional development for the parents to get back to work and for us to get,
24:55we really want our kids in school. But it is difficult during this current surge to make them,
25:00you know, the unvaccinated community and the under vaccinated community go to school safely.
25:07But, you know, again, vaccinate, wear your mask, you know, socially distance, you know,
25:13all of those things are helpful. But it is a really tough situation right now with dealing with schools.
25:18Understood. And Dr. Claiborne, Dr. Sims Mackey just talked about, you know,
25:24the importance of kids wearing, if they're in school, or in general, they're wearing their masks,
25:28everyone wearing their masks, and masks, now there's some confusion with that. Because initially,
25:33it was like, wear whatever mask you can find, make something, you know, in the early days. And now,
25:38there's been some discussion about getting some of the medical grade masks back instead of using cloth.
25:44So what would you say is the best way for us to kind of cover our faces and, you know, protect
25:50ourselves? And someone even asked of your question, should we be covering our eyes still? How should
25:54we go about that? So I think the most important thing to remember is the masks that are most effective
25:59are masks that are worn. So making sure you have a mask that you wear and wear appropriately is the
26:05most important thing. Now, there are different quality masks. So, you know, in healthcare, when I go to work,
26:10I'm using either a respirator, or, you know, definitely an N95 mask covered by a surgical mask.
26:17And so there's been some recent, you know, arguments that we should encourage the general
26:21public to use these N95 masks, because they do offer the highest degree of filtration, and we'll
26:26make sure that we're not really passing that virus. That said, the N95 masks in general tend to be pretty
26:31uncomfortable, and are not really something that I think that the layperson can tolerate for long
26:36periods of time. So if you have access to that quality mask, and you're very concerned, then
26:40sure, I would wear that mask. But for a lot of people, I think what's more practical is to wear
26:44at least a double layered cloth mask, not a single layered one, or double mask, two surgical masks,
26:52and make sure that you have that close fitting across your nose, and you're underneath your chin,
26:57so that you're minimizing any gaps against your face, and making sure you're consistently keeping
27:02that mask on, not pulling it down, not trying to readjust it all the time. And that's why,
27:06you know, a mask that's comfortable that you can keep in place is the most important thing.
27:10As for covering your eyes and face, I certainly think that, you know, using a face shield and goggles
27:14is an additional layer of protection. A lot of times they have now face shields that are very
27:18comfortable. So again, if you have access to that, and you want to add that to your arsenal of your
27:23personal protection, then I would encourage doing that. So, you know, there is that top level of,
27:28you know, the N95 mask, if you have access, and you're doing something very high risk,
27:31like air travel, or something where you're in a large group, then see if you can tolerate that,
27:35you know, for a shorter period of time. But for the everyday use, the most important thing is
27:39to keep that mask on. And so a double layered mask, with or without a face shield, is what I would
27:44suggest. Okay, awesome. That was a great, great recommendations. And so we're going to move into
27:50just a couple of the user questions, and then I'll wrap up, because I think we've covered even some of
27:55the last little questions that I had. Just really quickly, you know, it's okay. I just wanted to
28:01add into Dr. Claiborne's point, because we talked a lot about N95 and KN95. And for the average
28:08person, they've never seen or used any of these masks. And so this is a KN95 mask, they usually
28:14come folded like this. And, you know, you open them up, they go around your ears, like so. And this
28:20is how you wear KN95. And those are those are widely, I would say, in use in lots of parts of the
28:26country, they're more expensive than your general surgical mask. But a lot of people are accessing
28:30those. This is an N95 mask. So this is from my hospital. And it kind of goes on differently,
28:36you kind of put it over like this, and it clips to the back of your head. We as healthcare providers,
28:42we were fit tested for these masks. So they kind of put us in the hood, they sprayed this sweet
28:47substance to make sure that we couldn't get any of those particles in. And as Dr. Claiborne mentioned,
28:51this is not the most comfortable mask, it leaves marks on my face over the course of a shift. And
28:57so it's the kind of thing that, you know, for most people, when they're thinking about, well,
29:00what's the right kind of mask, it can get complicated. I do know the CDC is talking about
29:05contemplating new masking guidance, so more information may be coming soon. But I completely
29:11agree with Dr. Claiborne, the best mask is one that fits, one that's comfortable, one that you can wear,
29:16and ideally one that other people around you are also wearing, because the mask has its
29:20greater value when everybody around you is masked.
29:24And I really appreciate the visual of that, because I just, I randomly got the 95,
29:30the one that you said you were fitted for, that doctors are fitted for. I got one at the hardware
29:34store for like painters, and we were in the house yesterday like, what the heck, how am I supposed
29:39to do this? Upside down and all kind of wrong. So thank you for that. But moving into a couple of
29:46the viewer questions, a user wanted to know, which I've, yeah, she wants to know, is Omicron in the air?
29:53So many people are getting sick. So anybody can jump in if they like.
30:02Yeah, that means different things to different people when you say in the air. So when I walk
30:06out into my neighborhood or go for a jog, I'm not going to run through a cloud of Omicron. But I think
30:12that these are airborne or respiratory illnesses. And so in smaller settings or areas of poor ventilation
30:18certainly is in the air. And I think that's the reason why we talk about the risk of indoor spaces.
30:22We talk about the risk with indoor dining, particularly in places with high levels of COVID-19,
30:28specifically Omicron. So that's why masking when indoors is critical. That's why avoiding being too
30:34close or in crowded places is critical, because those are the spaces where this respiratory
30:40illness, these respiratory droplets can spread. And so certainly it gets into the air by people
30:47coughing, by people sneezing. And this is the time of year when there's a lot of that happening.
30:51And so that's why masks are such a critical part of the strategy.
30:55Awesome. And another user wants to know, how soon after testing positive should you get tested again?
31:01That's a great question. So if you've tested positive and technically you are in isolation,
31:09so you should be separating yourself from the general public for a minimum of five days. And
31:13the recommendation is that at the end of the five days, if you want to go out into the public,
31:17I think it's best to get tested again. Now, what tests to get? So we know there are two main types
31:22of tests. There are PCR tests that look for viral genetic material, but it's important to understand
31:27that that viral genetic material can persist in the body for a while after the infection is long gone,
31:32which means that that PCR test can remain positive even if you're no longer infectious.
31:37Now, rapid antigen tests are looking for viral proteins, which are a sign
31:41of active viral replication. And we use it to help us understand whether or not someone is
31:47infectious. So I'd recommend that if you've tested positive and you've completed the recommended five
31:52days of isolation at day five, if you'd like to know if you're still infectious,
31:57I would get a rapid antigen test. And if that is positive, I would complete the full 10 days.
32:02But if it was negative, you can assume that you're no longer infectious, but I would still advise
32:06to remain cautious by wearing a mask around others for the total 10 days.
32:12Sounds good. And someone, we already touched on this briefly with you, Dr. Sutton, but someone's
32:17asked, how do you know if you have flu or not?
32:22You know, it's again, so the symptoms of the flu, the common cold and COVID-19 can all
32:26kind of mix in together. And so you really don't know until you get tested. For patients during
32:31this flu season, in my hospital, for example, we're testing high-risk patients for COVID-19
32:36and the flu. But sometimes those tests take a while to get done. So until that time, we advise patients,
32:41again, act with the highest level of caution, separate yourself from the community, especially
32:45those who are vulnerable. And if you have to be in the community, wearing a tight-fitting mask.
32:49Awesome. And you guys touched on this earlier, but what impact are you seeing that these boosters
32:56are having for those who are now, like, triple protected out here? Like, what are we seeing in
33:01their own reactions to, you know, maybe even being exposed? Are they, like, having no symptoms? What are
33:07you guys seeing out there? I can chime in on this since I am a boosted physician that is COVID-positive.
33:14I would say all my symptoms were really mild. So I, you know, I had a sore throat. I had some
33:18congestion. I was coughing more so because my throat was irritated. And my symptoms really
33:23lasted around two to three days and then have been resolving now for the last couple of days.
33:29And I would say that that is the experience of the vast majority of people I know who are boosted.
33:34There are a number of physicians that, you know, have been testing positive and all of us kind of
33:37have that same kind of line of mild cold symptoms. Plus fatigue is another one that is commonly
33:43mentioned. And so I do think that, you know, people who are boosted are much more likely to
33:48have very mild symptoms with this variant and potential future variants. And that is why
33:53the emphasis has been on getting boosted if you're eligible for a booster
33:56and getting your series completed of your vaccination if you have not.
34:00The people who I am seeing in the emergency department that are requiring intubation or breathing
34:05tubes or being admitted to the ICU are largely the unvaccinated. And so those are the people who are
34:10still at risk for severe disease. And that is why we continue to emphasize the importance of
34:15vaccination and boosting. It will protect you from hospitalization and death. And that's the most
34:20important part. Fantastic. And my last question for you guys, and I love to hear from everyone.
34:27We're dealing with COVID fatigue. Like I mentioned in the very beginning, it's been more than two years.
34:31Somebody said we're entering year three. I'm like, don't claim that. But in what way should people not
34:36get lax right now in regards to how they behave in public when they're gathering with friends?
34:42Um, just in general, like I think people want so badly to go back to what they used to do
34:47that it's making things worse. So in what way should we just, what advice would you give to us
34:52to just be more cautious, you know, that we can all just do and it's not that hard.
34:59I can go first. Oh, I'm sorry.
35:02Okay. I was just going to say, I would just offer up that, um, you know, this is kind of a public
35:08health and community and you have to think of others. And from my perspective, there are, you know,
35:14many young people who are not vaccinated at all, who are more at risk for contracting the illness
35:18and keeping it going. Young people tend to visit old people and old people we know are more at risk.
35:24And so I just think, you know, really try to think about others and doing the right thing
35:30and protecting. So if you haven't finished your quarantine, don't go out, you know,
35:34and expose other people because you don't know who you may be sitting next to, who may be dealing
35:38with an illness who can't be vaccinated or immunosuppressed or other things. So really,
35:44this is the time that we should be, um, having a community effort, thinking about other people
35:48besides just ourselves.
35:51And I would add in from Dr. Sims Mackey, she made an incredible point earlier on, which is
35:56acknowledging the rates around you and using them kind of like a weather report before you step
36:01outside checking to see if the rates are high. And if they are, you need extra protection to protect
36:06yourself from exposure, which in that case was rain. But in this case, it's COVID-19 and all around
36:10the United States, the transmission rates are just simply so high that we need to have the highest level
36:15of protection. As we've probably remarked during this interview in the emergency room, we've got long
36:19wait times. And it's important to understand that in prior surges, we've seen that during surges,
36:24the morbidity and mortality or the worst outcome occurs to all patients, COVID-19 and non COVID-19
36:31related. For example, I'm having patients that are having difficulty getting access to their
36:35chemotherapy, their dialysis. This even makes treating something straightforward like appendicitis
36:40incredibly difficult because there's no bed to put the patient in. There's no staff to care for
36:45that patient. And it's difficult to transfer the patient to another hospital because that hospital is
36:49also full. So we have to think beyond our individual self at this moment and think about
36:54our communities and what we can do to prevent our hospital systems from collapsing. And by that, it's
36:59getting vaccinated, wearing a mask and making sure that you're as cautious as possible during the
37:03turbulent times.
37:07I'll just also plug because I think that it's an important thing to acknowledge that this is a really
37:12emotionally, physically, and mentally tough experience for all of us in this country and around the world.
37:19And so even though you cannot use some of the community and interactions with your loved ones
37:25that you're used to relying on to help you when you're going through something tough, reach out to
37:29people and talk to them virtually. Try to maintain a good mental health. It does have an impact on your
37:35body and recognize that we will get through this. But we need to be diligent. I use the analogy that it's
37:40like having a sprained ankle. If you injure your ankle and I tell you to stay off of it
37:45for a week so that it can heal and you decide to go running on it the next day, your injury is going
37:50to last a lot longer. And that's kind of what we've been doing with this virus. We have not basically
37:56taken advantage of the vaccine and been able to stomp out this infection early on. And that is why we
38:02continue to have variants. And so until we really all get with the ball game and adhere to the rules
38:06that all of us are prescribing, we will continue to see variants and potentially have to continue
38:11battling this for longer and longer. I know for a lot of us that is mentally exhausting to think
38:16about. So if you don't want to deal with that, you really need to double down and not only yourself
38:21follow these rules, but encourage people in your circles who you know maybe are not following those
38:25rules or not getting vaccinated to get with the program. Because this is something that we will only
38:30be able to achieve and conquer if we come together. It impacts everybody's bodies, everyone's community,
38:36and not just your own. And so we need to look at that as a community and not only rely on each other
38:40and lean on each other for that emotional support, but also hold each other accountable so that we can
38:45eventually exit this pandemic successfully. Well, and I'll just close by saying first, I love how we all
38:54have analogies at this point. It's the weather, it's a rainstorm, you know, it's an ankle sprain.
39:00And I would say COVID, it remains a boxing match. And we've all seen a heavyweight fight and we've all
39:05seen it go into the 10th round where one individual is absolutely dominating the other. But at every round
39:10what the umpire or the person who's kind of monitoring the fight says is they say, protect yourself
39:16at all times. And that's true with COVID-19 as well. Just because we're entering the third year,
39:22it doesn't mean that it's time to just throw caution to the wind. You still have to protect
39:26yourself at all times. You just happen to have more tools today than we've had at any other point
39:31in the pandemic, whether it's the vaccines that we have, the boosters, whether it's, you know,
39:36masking or you get COVID-19, the different therapeutics that are available, like monoclonal
39:41antibodies or the oral antivirals. We have more tools at our disposal, more knowledge about this virus,
39:46more ways to navigate it than ever before. But that doesn't change the fact that you have to do
39:51everything in your power to protect yourself. And, you know, part of the prompt here was,
39:55you know, in what ways should people not get lax right now? And my last charge to you is don't
40:00get lax in your advocacy. I think advocacy was such a strong part of what allowed us to look out for
40:05communities, to look out for folks who are struggling, folks who are really forced into harm's
40:11way. Look out for indigenous communities, look out for the disability community because so many
40:15disabilities are seen, but others are unseen. Look out for the people around you in ways that you
40:22normally would call uncommon, but are critical in a moment like this. Because, you know, with Martin
40:27Luther King Jr. Day coming up, we always say we're tied together in a single garment of destiny with this
40:32particular pandemic. There's no getting through it without each other. There's no getting through it
40:36if we don't all work together. And so, as we say, we can do this, but it really is going to take all of us.
40:41So true, so true. Well, guys, this has been fantastic. I really thank you for making time
40:47in your busy schedules to speak with Essence, be part of this Wellness Check, and to give our readers
40:52and the people in general some insights on how they can just keep protecting themselves and their
40:56families. So, I really appreciate everyone who took part in this call today. Again, we have with us
41:02Dr. Cameron Webb, Dr. Liz Claiborne, Dr. Darian Sutton, and Dr. Pamela Sims-Mackey. Thank you so much,
41:09everyone, for agreeing to be a part of this and for just sharing your wealth of knowledge with us on
41:13today. Awesome. And thank you all viewers, our readers, our beloved Essence family for taking
41:21part in this as well and listening and learning with us on today. We hope that you will continue
41:25to check out our Wellness Checks and that you'll just continue reading and protecting yourself.
41:29Thank you again, and you guys have a wonderful, wonderful day.
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