COVID-19 Update, February 11th, 2022

It's been a while, let's check-in.

1. The FDA has put the Pfizer vaccine for toddlers on hold. They (the FDA) would like more information/data before reviewing and deciding on the vaccine. You may recall that the second dose didn't really produce enough of an effect to be worthwhile. So Pfizer was exploring a 3 dose series for toddlers. But they don't have quite enough data and it may be months before they get enough for the FDA review. The process is working which is good news.

2. A new study published in JAMA has found that myocarditis among males is most common after the second vaccination. We pretty much already knew this but the numbers they are reporting are new. They found ages 16 -17 to be at the highest risk with about 105 cases per 1 million doses of vaccine given. Ages 12- 15 were next at about 50 per 1 million doses.

3. Another study also published in JAMA found that women who were vaccinated during pregnancy were able to pass the covid antibodies to their baby thereby protecting them. This was also true among women who developed covid, but antibody levels were higher among vaccinated women offering higher protection to the infant. At 6 months, 57% of infants whose moms were vaccinated were showing antibodies, 8% of infants whose moms were unvaccinated but had had covid were showing antibodies. You can read the full study above.

4. The UK is reporting that 1 out of every 48 people is experiencing long covid symptoms lasting a year or more. In an odd twist, some people with long covid have found relief from taking simple over-the-counter antihistamines. So clinical studies are starting on that. You can read what we know from the case studies so far here.

5. Getting covid can cause your immune system to not function quite right for about 8 months post-infection. At this point, most people have had covid so you just want to be aware that your immune system may be weaker following infection.

6. Cases are going down around the country but deaths are rising. This is a natural expectation given the lag between cases and deaths so don't be overly alarmed.

7. I have heard lots of people talking about when we eradicate covid and so on. First, let me be very clear that we will not eradicate covid, only one human disease has ever been eradicated, smallpox, although we are very hopeful polio will be number 2 on that list. Covid will become endemic. But some people seem to think that means it will become a non-issue and that is not what endemic means. It means covid will always be with us. Not like it is now, but it will be here like the flu is here. Diseases that have an animal host are harder to get under control because it isn't just about the humans, and covid can be in lots of different animals. The more animals it is in, the more likely we will see big shifts in the variants. I don't say this to discourage, just to let you know it is about getting this to manageable levels. And right now is our window. We have 10 weeks to really do something before we are all susceptible again.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I am not accustomed to failure. Stumbles, falls, slips, backslides, setbacks, yes. Failure....no. Because in most things in my life, if I just keep getting up and dusting off and working harder, eventually, I can succeed. It may take years but it can happen. But sometimes, no matter how hard I have worked. No matter how much effort, energy, science, faith, tears, rage, or sheer willpower I put in, I fail. I simply am not capable. It doesn't happen often and when it does, it makes no sense to me and I have a really hard time accepting that I just simply can't do it, change it, accomplish it, whatever. It is difficult to accept that no matter what I do, I can't accomplish the goal. I can't. I have failed. That is a hard pill to swallow. On some fronts, we can say that if you gave it your all, you didn't fail. But inside, I still feel like I failed.

As I have chatted with some of you over the last few weeks, you have expressed some of those same feelings about having gotten covid. A sense of failure. A sense that you sacrificed and fought so hard and then lost. So what was it all for? And I totally get that. More than you can ever know, I get it. So today, I want to tell you this lesson that I learned while crying on the shower floor after finally accepting one of my own failures. You can be proud of what you did. You learned and grew and mastered other things along the way. Sure, you didn't get the result you wanted, but is that really failure? We can't control everything in life, every variable. We can only do our best. Did you? Did you give it your best? The best you had at the moment? The best you could offer under the circumstances you were in? You positioned yourself for the best possible outcome, and that outcome is life. If you are still living, you are not failing. You, my friend, are a success story. Your sacrifices have not been in vain. So let's celebrate with tacos and Margaritas, who cares that it isn't Tuesday. You deserve it.