S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. Covid infections are high in California. We'll talk about the characteristics of this new variant and the risks for long Covid. I'm Jade Hindman. Here's to conversations that keep you informed and inspired and make you think.
S2:
S1: Then we'll talk about the latest variant and what it means for our immunity , plus what the latest research on Covid tells us about long Covid. That's ahead on Midday Edition. Happy Monday ! So there is no shortage of news. Over the weekend , we heard President Joe Biden step out of the presidential race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. Lots of news to follow on that front. But here locally , Covid 19 is on the rise. And for many people , it may feel like a thing of the past. But that is an entirely true. In California and across much of the nation , there's been an increase in the number of cases reported. So how is San Diego faring ? Well , joining me with that answer is KPBS health reporter Heidi DeMarco. Heidi , welcome to the show. Hi.
S2: Hi. Great to be here.
S1: So glad to have you here. So you've recently reported on how the county reports show an uptick in Covid cases.
S2: But in San Diego County , officials say they started to see a rise in cases in late May and early June this year. In the last month , the positivity rate of tests increased to more than about 14% , so it prompted them to recommend the public to get tested and vaccinated.
S1:
S2: For example , at one San Diego hospital , they were seeing 30 patients this summer , not 200.
S1: Oh , wow.
S2: So doctors have reported that the last time Covid was the main cause of hospital admission was in the summer of 2022. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Well , you know , the newest wave of Covid infections are largely coming from what are being called Flirt variants.
S2: The CDC says there's no definitive information yet on whether Covid will be more severe with new variants , or how symptoms might change. The severity of the symptoms typically depend more on the person's immunity and overall health than on which variant they're infected with. Hmm.
S1: Hmm.
S2: So health experts say that it's not likely that the virus is more mild , but rather that our immunity has strengthened both through vaccinations and previous infections. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Since people have such mild symptoms , it's not likely that a lot of people will even test for Covid. Do you think ? Are they saying anything about that ? You know.
S2: I think you're right. I think that people the symptoms are mild. And so , yes , a lot of people may go undetected. They might not test. And if they do tests , maybe they. And I was going to mention this , but take an at home test. But they're saying that because of the new strains , the tests aren't that reliable anymore. So but then it also depends on it's a personal thing my My immunity might be stronger than yours. It doesn't really matter. On age , you know , there are people that are higher risk. But yes , you may not even know that you're you know , you might just like , think it's just a cold or not even a cold. Maybe I just had a headache. Exactly. So I think a lot of people might go undetected. And this is why it spreads a little more. Yeah.
S1: Yeah , that certainly presents a challenge. Well , UCSD and Scripps Research , they study Covid 19 levels through wastewater testing.
S2: And so every everyone , everyone's wastewater is collected. So he said that the Covid 19 levels in the wastewater , they align with the rising cases being reported by the county , and he attributed it to the new Flirt variants. He said there's some seasonality involved with some of these rises. Summer is a time where a lot of kids are out of school. People are traveling , so that changes in daily behavioral patterns and workflows might be leading to the changes in the way that the virus is spreading.
S1: Well , you also reported that due to this uptick in cases , the county health department is encouraging vaccinations and testing.
S2: The times and locations can be found on our website. You can also use at home test. Although doctors say because of the rise of the new variants , some at home tests might not be as reliable as they used to be. So they do recommend testing at your doctor's office or a local clinic if you feel any kind of symptom.
S1:
S2: They agree that ongoing masking is important , especially if you feel unwell or you're at a higher risk due to age or immunocompromised status.
S1: So basically masking that something we may want to consider still doing and also putting some space between ourselves and other people , definitely.
S2: You know , a lot of people are going back to work. You know , people are traveling out of school. But also , you know , you see San Diego Health. I just spoke to a doctor. They implemented masking inside of the hospital. So they're seeing it as important , even though the numbers are low and they're saying , you know , this is it's much different than it was a couple of years ago. There's still people dying. There's still , you know , people getting infected. And some of us are at higher risk than others. So masking is one way to help protect yourself and protect the community.
S1: Do doctors anticipate the numbers going up in the coming weeks or months ? Definitely.
S2: A little bit of a of a summer surge is what they're calling it. And like the flu , they're seeing it. You know , it may become seasonal. We might you know , these these strains are changing. But like the flu vaccine , they're. It's a guessing game for them to see what is going to work. And they really won't know until the vaccine is out and about. And people are taking it , using it , getting the shots and and hoping for the best. Really.
S1: All right. Well , I've been speaking with KPBS health reporter Heidi DeMarco. Heidi , thank you so much for joining us.
S2: Thank you. Jade.
S1: Still ahead , why our immunity is more vulnerable to this new Covid variant.
S3: So the current variant , it's called CP3 , is significantly different than prior versions of the virus that we've been exposed to.
S1: Hear more when KPBS Midday Edition returns. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition I'm Jade Hindman. Coronavirus numbers have jumped significantly across the nation , and the newest wave has brought very high levels of coronavirus detection in California's wastewater. This is the highest the number has been since last winter. We just talked to KPBS health reporter Heidi DeMarco about the local impact of the virus , and now we'll get the bigger picture from Doctor Eric Topol , professor at Scripps Research Translational Institute. Doctor Topol , it's good to have you back on the show.
S3: Great to be with you again , Jane.
S1: Well , I got to know. Covid may seem like a thing of the past for many people , but numbers are on the rise. Why are we seeing this increase right now ? Right.
S3: It is a significant wave that's developed. And we're not we're not necessarily seeing the end of it. It's related to two major things. The virus has continued to evolve. so the current variant , it's called CP3 , is significantly different than prior versions of the virus that we've been exposed to. Along with that , of course , there's the waning immunity , because whether it's from a vaccine or a prior infection , uh , doesn't last that long , uh , past six months or so. Added to those features about the virus evolution in our immunity waning is , of course , that we continue to try to make believe the virus isn't out there , and so we don't do anything to try to prevent infections , largely because some people do , but they're the minority and that's adding to the problem. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Well how is this very different. Yeah.
S4: Yeah. So this CP3.
S3: Uh , you know , back in April , I wrote about this flirting with a new Covid wave. Uh , with a was the title of a essay. And , you know , there was a so-called flirt variance. There was a major new variant that popped up just before that. Uh , and it took a while for it to pick up enough new mutations to become dominant in this country. So , you know , we're only getting genome sequencing readouts from the CDC every two weeks now. But the last one has shown that this CP3 is taking over. It's now responsible for the vast majority of infections in the US , and also for why we're seeing a significant wave. It's a problem because it is more infectious , and it also is more evading our immune system , which is already compromised to some degree because we're far out from a booster vaccine or a prior infection. So it's basically the constant evolution of the virus where we don't constantly adapt , we our immunities and good enough to withstand a long term. Vaccines are not durable enough for this virus. So the virus is kind of racing ahead and we're not keeping up with it. Right.
S1: Right. Well , I mean , I was going to ask if this variant , this flirt and CP3 , if the variant is evading our vaccines at all.
S3: Well , just to some extent. So the f , L and the T and flirt stand for two of the mutations key mutations it picked up. But now there's a few more that have added to this current CP3. Uh , and so it doesn't fully evade our immune system. There aren't as many people , proportionately , who get a Covid infection now who get very sick , who wind up in the hospital. So we we it's partially evading our immune system now. We still have people who are getting very sick and even dying , but fortunately because of some immunity to the virus , um , it's less of that. So that's the good thing about having four years in our back , uh , uh , as far as having exposure in vaccines and boosters , but it's just not good enough , uh , to give full , um , immune recognition when it sees this spike protein coming to contact to our upper airway. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S3: I mean , we saw more gastrointestinal side effects in recent months , but overall , you know , the same things as far as , uh , sore throat , cough , runny nose , uh , are some of the dominant symptoms.
S1: Our our at home tests still effective at detecting it ? Yes.
S3: As far as we know , uh , it's the latest variant of CP3 , um , which has another new mutation called 311. Uh , does have a deletion. It's possible it will be trickier , but so far as we know , the the rapid tests are still working pretty well. Wow.
S1: Wow. All right.
S3: And it was about this very point , what has been going on with long Covid over the course of the pandemic. And what's fascinating is that because of vaccination , it dropped at least 50 to 70%. The the rate of people developing long Covid , but still now , uh , it's over 3%. So whether it's a new infection , most people have had Covid now or a reinfection , the chance of getting long Covid now is over 3% , whereas prior to vaccination it was well over 10%. So we've made progress. But still that 3% chance is is worrisome because long Covid , as you all know , is a very difficult thing to have to deal with. We have no treatment and it can be severely disabling. Right.
S1:
S3: Uh , we don't have a treatment yet. There are more trials that are getting started to test things , but it's very frustrating because , uh , these folks , so many of them have really been incapacitated. Their lives have been changed , and we don't have much to offer them at this point. I hope that's going to change in the times ahead. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S3: What we discussed that we have some immunity to the virus , almost all of us , or , you know , 90 some percent of us have been exposed to the virus directly. And a lot of those folks of the vast majority have had vaccinations , uh , with or without boosters , so the chance of getting very severe illness requiring hospitalization is much reduced. But there still is that chance , particularly in people who are older , age 65 and older , or have some immune system compromised. So these are the people that are really at high risk. And that brings up another point , Jade , is that we aren't ready with the new vaccine booster. It's not going to be ready until about Labor Day. So we have six weeks or so with a booster that's basically directed towards an obsolete version of the virus. And so it's unfortunate. It takes time to get these boosters made , and it's going to be a good match for CP3. Uh , although six weeks from now , who knows what the virus will start to evolve further. But a booster right now would give added protection , particularly for the high risk people that I just mentioned. Hmm.
S1: Hmm.
S3: So we're seeing a lot of Covid , uh , at Scripps Health and throughout San Diego. There's more people that have been hospitalized in some time. And of course , I think everyone knows that more people who have recently had Covid in our region , and we don't know whether this is the , um , you know , the end of this wave. Uh , there have been summer ways throughout the pandemic. It's a silly notion that it's , uh , an annual event like flu , that it's seasonal , like that. We've had at least two ways , you know , every year of this pandemic. So , um , we have to adjust to the point that if , firstly , that Covid is not going away , we need a nasal vaccine. We need a pan coronavirus universal coronavirus vaccine. And the two we get those things. We have to cope with things and we have these gaps now months of gaps with a successful directed booster vaccine. And had that been available , you know , weeks ago , it would have helped a lot of people from getting infected or getting the sequela of the infection.
S1: Let me ask you this.
S3: I do think , though , educating people about the things that we can do. Uh , you know , the masks are still highly worthwhile. High quality masks , uh , like Kn95 or N95 masks. And , you know , we have to have our guard up about being in crowds , you know , being indoors especially that is , and our attention to better ventilation , um , better air quality. These are such important things. We've never stepped up. And in fact , as you know , Jade , there are states that are trying to mandate not to have mass , which is such a paradox because they work , they help , and that's just feeding into , you know , really pseudoscience that masks are unhelpful. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S3: Uh , for people older and if they've , uh , you know , have multiple chronic illnesses or immune system , uh , issues , it's time now to take this seriously. You don't want to get Covid and you don't want to get long Covid. So that means , you know , the mitigation factors that we know well need to be put in place. Uh , and that starts , you know , with mask and , and , uh , avoiding indoor situations where , you know , uh , being with people who are untested and possibly infected , all those sorts of things. But as soon as the booster is available , uh , in Labor Day , it would be really prudent to get it. Um , and that's a problem because so few Americans , you know , went and had the booster that was available almost a year ago , September 2023. But it's going to be available , and it's going to be really important to get it. For those people who are at high risk. Short of that , you know , there's the idea you could still get the current booster , which is another way to , you know , to deal with things , but it just isn't that good a match. It doesn't. It's not going to offer nearly as good protection as getting what's called the CP two booster that will be available in the next six weeks.
S1: Given how quickly this virus evolves , will the booster that's coming out be effective against this variant should it mutate again ? Yeah.
S3: You're you're hitting a really important point here , Jade , because it will the virus will continue to evolve. You can count on that whether it will evolve substantially. The hope is not that it does always take time. This this uh , pre CP3 if you will , variant showed up in the spring and it took a few months to get where we are right now. So we're going to have a little bit of time over the course of September , October. But eventually , yes , it will morph to something different. It'll keep challenging us. The whole purpose of this virus is to find hosts , infect them , infect them again if need be , whatever it takes. That's the mission of the virus and we don't respect it. We keep thinking , oh , Covid , it's it's all past tense. It couldn't be further from the truth. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And , you know , to go back to the symptoms of this particular mutation and variant , I often hear a lot about gastrointestinal issues. Is that something a common symptom with this. Yes.
S3: Yes. Yes yes. I mentioned that a bit earlier that as opposed to the early Covid major variants , that's what evolved over time. So yes , the more recent variants , it's more likely to have some , uh , GI symptoms. Uh , sure. But some people of course , don't have that. As you know , there's lots of different symptoms , uh , that people manifest when they get Covid. Uh , sometimes it can be more GI. More. Most of the time , though , it's still cough. Um , you know , upper airway , um , issues that are the dominant symptoms. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S3: We've done nothing to eradicate this virus. All we've done is just , you know , become delusional that the virus is going to not hurt anybody. Uh , it's still looking to find people to infect. And , um , you know , we got to keep our guard up. But , moreover , we know of things that we can quash this virus with. If we had , you know , things like nasal vaccines that were effective or we had a shot that worked against all variants , not just the one , you know , the flavor of the month. Um , then we could really prevail. But we have not , um , you know , doubled down on those. We have projects , of course , that are trying to get those right now , but they're still moving slowly. Nothing's going to happen in 2024 for those important goals. But you know what ? We do need to take this virus seriously , and we have an opportunity to really be in control of it. But we haven't put that priority. We haven't put the resources. We haven't accelerated the chance to to be the ones in charge of the virus , rather than being the ones who are succumbing to the virus.
S1: I've been speaking with Doctor Eric Topol , professor and founder of Scripps Research Translational Institute. Doctor Topol , thank you so much for joining us , as always.
S3: Thank you Jane.
S1: Coming up , the one thing people may be missing when they think about Covid.
S5: One of the talking points that sort of left out always in these surges is to protect yourself , not just from Covid 19 , but from the long term risk of long Covid.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition returns after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. We've been talking about the current landscape of Covid. As the summer surge continues , more people are noticing symptoms that persist long after initial infection. In fact , the CDC found that 17 million adults in the U.S. reported having long Covid. I'm here with journalist Miles Griffiths. He is the co-founder and editor of The Sick Times , an independent news site dedicated to covering long Covid. Miles , welcome.
S5: Thanks so much for having me on today , I appreciate it.
S1: So glad you're here.
S5: Long Covid is typically diagnosed about three months after a Covid 19 infection. Long Covid affects almost every organ system of the body. Um , so this leads to a really wide presentation of symptoms , um , which can be I think the the stat is about 200 different symptoms. Um , so it can present differently in different people and age groups. So it can look a little bit different in children as it does in adults. But some of the main symptoms that people experience are really profound fatigue. So it's not just being tired but fatigue that interferes with your everyday life. They might experience trouble standing up for longer periods of time. You might feel faint , dizzy. Another big one is cognitive dysfunction. Memory problems. There's a lot of research showing the different effects of Covid and long Covid on the brain.
S1: And new ones are still emerging , right ? I mean , what are we seeing for years into the pandemic ? Yeah.
S5: So the other thing about long Covid is it can kind of come and go and can get worse with more reinfections of Covid 19. So a lot of people who have been sick with long Covid in early 2020 , um , have seen their symptoms change over time. However , some have had the exact same symptoms for four years , so it's very person dependent. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , I mean with more than 200 symptoms and things like you mentioned , symptoms like fatigue and and cognitive dysfunction does long Covid looks similar to other chronic conditions.
S5: There are some yeah. One comparisons to myalgic encephalomyelitis um which is sometimes called chronic fatigue syndrome. We've known for a long time that , um , viruses can cause long term , um , health issues and other diseases later on , whether they're cancers or autoimmune diseases. So long Covid might fit into that. There's a lot of research on it. I think there's over 24,000 papers that have been published so far in the last four years. Hmm.
S1:
S5: It is about 7% of adults , as you quoted earlier , is about 17 millions of Americans in the US. So the population of California , around 7% of adults in it would kind of give us a good number. So I would guess it's in close to the millions. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. But you know , with so many symptoms , how are doctors able to diagnose long Covid ? I mean , does that make it. Does the fact that there are so many symptoms make it harder to track ? I explain that it can. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. One of the most helpful things is keeping track of when you when you start to experience symptoms. If you do , because Covid can be asymptomatic , it can be tricky. So that's why it's important to test after you may have had an exposure or once you start to experience symptoms. That way you can track it to a Covid 19 infection , which will give you a little bit more of a clue. But there's a lot of symptoms that are quite common. So if you have that profound fatigue , if you have cognitive dysfunction , brain fog , these things that are persisting for a long time , it's important to listen to your body and tell your doctor what's going on and they can help diagnose. However , not all doctors are on up to date with the latest long Covid research , so a lot of patients struggle to find good care and be believed they're still an issue , even for years , on to find good care. So one of the best places to go to is usually a long Covid clinic , as they are seeing a lot of these patients and there are a few in Southern California.
S1:
S5: It depends on the clinic , the doctor and provider. So a lot of patients are being left out. They're being gaslit , and they're not really getting the care that they need when acquiring this really serious disease. Mhm.
S6: Mhm.
S1: With that in mind , tracking the numbers of people who have maybe who perhaps have long Covid is pretty difficult then. Right. If doctors aren't able to diagnose it well.
S5: There are no approved treatments for long Covid. This is , I think , something that gets left out a lot is I think our society just sort of thinks , oh , you know , things will just clear up and they'll be treatments that people can can get , but that's not the case. So there are no approved treatments. There's a ton of research going into long Covid right now , trying to find biomarkers and other things that will kind of help find the root cause so that we can treat it. So right now , one of the most important things people can do after a Covid infection is rest. As long as they can try to avoid high impact cardio and these types of things after a Covid 19 infection and avoiding Covid 19 infections in the first place that you don't end up with. Long Covid are important measures , and there are some ways to like manage symptoms because there are similarities with other diseases. There are some treatment options that help , but they do not cure the disease. So unfortunately , a lot of people have been sick now with Long-covid for almost for over four years now. And while they might have had some increase in the quality of life they experience , it's still very low compared to someone without the disease.
S1: Well , say someone presents with fatigue.
S5: So if there are other markers in blood tests or of things , you can diagnose those. And then there are some some things that come along with long Covid including disodium omega. So you can do things like a tilt table test. And this can help better diagnose some of the the diagnosis is under the bigger umbrella of long-covid.
S1: What's a tilt table test. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. So this is for dysautonomia and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome Pots. It's called. And this is when you stand up and you feel really dizzy and you could faint. So a lot of people with Long-covid experience this. Um , and a tilt table test is basically a way to measure your heart rate as you go from lying to standing. But you can do this at home too , by taking your heart rate and their resources available. For this , you can take your heart rate , lying and standing between certain intervals of time. And if your heart rate is at certain variables , then you can. It'll give you a much better clue if you might have pots.
S1: So are there other causes for something like pots ? Yeah.
S5: So Pots has been around before the pandemic. So it's likely triggered by other viral infections. So this is sort of talking about your question earlier of long Covid relating to other diseases. So there are these other diseases and conditions that around before the pandemic that are triggered by infections. So long Covid fits into this camp and as an umbrella term , there are lots of different diagnoses underneath it from cardiovascular. Covid can trigger diabetes. So there's a bunch of different health issues that can arise after Covid 19 infection that are included in the long Covid umbrella.
S1:
S5: We still don't have a lot of great and robust research on why these things happen following following infections , but a lot of it is emerging. Like , for instance , we know that multiple sclerosis Ms. is likely caused by Epstein-Barr virus , which is mono. So a lot of people get mono in the United States. We know that these viruses lead to diseases in the long term. And so for that one , it it happens about ten years after after initial infection. So that one was hidden for a long time because it's very hard to trace back to , to what it is. But researchers were able to figure that out. The difference with long Covid is the pandemic started. Covid 19 is so infectious , so , so many people got sick. And through online , online communities and the way we're able to share information now , so many people were able to figure out that they were getting sick from their Covid 19 infections and were able to name long Covid within three months of sort of when the pandemic was officially declared. Mhm.
S1: Mhm.
S5: A lot of the the name of long Long-covid came from patient advocacy , people finding , you know , sharing their experiences , their symptoms. Um , and this led to recognition of the disease from the World Health Organization , the CDC and major other health organizations around the world. Mhm.
S1: Well , long-covid can affect any age group. Right. So what what stories are you seeing there ? You know , I know it can happen in children. How does it present ? Yeah.
S5: So in children , it's it's complex because a lot of children aren't able to specifically sort of talk about their symptoms and address exactly what's happening to them. It can hide. So some of the biggest things to look for that advocacy groups and medical professionals have talked about is sort of just changes in behavior. So this can be sort of lack of attention , more fatigue , more tiredness , not wanting to do , you know , activities that they used to love doing before they got a Covid 19 infection. Hmm.
S6: Hmm. Wow.
S1: Well , you actually found the sick times after developing long Covid. Tell me about that. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. So I , um , I was a writer and journalist , um , before the pandemic began. Um , and then I got Covid 19 in early 2020. Started to experience long term symptoms , um , almost a month after that infection. And that's pretty that's common with long Covid. Symptoms can follow within weeks or months following the infection and then set in. Then I began to understand the disease more as it was named through this patient advocacy , and then began to report on it over the last few years. And then my colleague Betsy LaTourette and I founded the Sick Times last year as a nonprofit newsroom. And we are covering Long-covid mainly because we wanted a place for patients and a place that specifically addresses long Covid , as a lot of the time it's sort of left out in more mainstream news narratives , especially sort of during surges like we're in right now. One of the talking points that sort of left out always in these surges to protect yourself , not just from Covid 19 , but from the long term risk of long Covid , which aren't usually as presented to the community , presented in public health as a warning that long Covid can affect you , can affect anyone of any age group , and it can last for years. Mhm.
S1: Do you since you've been kind of dealing with long Covid , do you look at it as a disability.
S5: I do , yeah. Identifies as disabled. And this is very common with a lot of people with long Covid. It can be extremely debilitating. Many people can aren't able to work at all. Some can only work part time. It presents in a wide spectrum of severity from yeah , a more mild. Maybe you're able to get through your every day to severe , which is people who are completely bedbound. Some can't talk , some can't participate in any of the activities that they did before and just confined to their rooms. So it's it's a wide swath of wide presentation of severity , and it can get worse over time or with more subsequent Covid 19 infections.
S1:
S5: Some people some people with long Covid have gotten disability benefits , but many have been rejected. The HHS and Biden administration , I believe , in 2021 , considered it a that it could be listed as a disability , but it is still sort of an ongoing fight to have this recognized and accepted as a full time disability. A lot of people who are very , very sick don't have a lot of bandwidth to hire lawyers and fight the disability system , are being rejected and are not receiving proper health or proper assistance from this disease that they've acquired during the pandemic. Hmm.
S6: Hmm.
S1: Well , there are many accounts of how isolating it can be to have long Covid. We're seeing it in online communities , which you mentioned , and in the stories you're covering at the Sick Times.
S5: Yeah. Um , so for me personally , each I've been reinfected twice. So I've had three Covid infections total that I'm aware of. And each one has sort of , uh , made my quality of life worse. So I'm very vigilant in avoiding Covid 19 , which means in today's world , you know , I avoid meeting in large groups. I always wear a high quality respirator if I'm doing if I'm going out in public to do errands indoors. So a lot of people , um , are many are confined to their homes still as they want to avoid re-infection and further disability. But a lot of people , some don't have the choice or so they are still participating. And they're a lot of the people who you might still see be wearing masks and are trying to avoid Covid 19 in public spaces.
S1:
S5: Very neurological. So doing too much work can cause me to experience post exertional malaise , which is a really common symptom. It's basically extreme fatigue following cognitive or physical work. Yeah. They decided for the part that I was explaining earlier , postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. That.
S6: That.
S1: That sounds like something that's probably pretty difficult to to get around in your daily life. And this is something so many people are going through.
S5: So this is inserting really good , um , air purifiers and systems into our infrastructure. And these clean the air since Covid 19 or the virus that causes Covid 19 , um , SARS-CoV-2 , since it's airborne , um , it spreads really easily in indoor spaces. Um , so improving the air quality , sort of like we improve the water quality during the cholera pandemic and epidemic , will help bring down cases on these large surges that were experiencing , you know , 2 or 3 times a year. The second is having a mask requirements in public spaces , um , such as , you know , on airplanes , public transportation , pharmacies , and especially hospitals. A lot of people who are disabled haven't been able to access good care over the past few years because there are no mask requirements for health care workers in hospitals , which is leading to more spread of Covid 19 and also many deaths because of that. Um , because a lot of the people who are the sickest or struggling the most with their health seek help at hospitals and then they're exposed to this really dangerous virus. So those are the sort of the big ones. I think the other huge one is. Advocates would like to see more public health education around long Covid presented by the government that really warns people about the long term risks of Covid 19 infections. A lot of the times it's been sort of put forward as it's no big deal. It's just like a flu. But scientific study shows it's much more deadly than the flu , and it leads to much more long term health complications from the flu. So I guess educating the public about the risk of Covid 19 would be very helpful. And showing sort of how long , long Covid can be. You know , I've had it for four plus years. It's likely a lifelong condition and many of these sort of diagnoses within it are lifelong and don't have cures. So educating the public that one Covid infection could disable you and change your life , I think would really help with public perception about this disease.
S1: Should someone get sick. Do vaccines help lower the risk of long Covid ? Yes.
S5: So keeping up on your vaccine is one of the ways to slightly reduce your risk of Covid 19. It does not eliminate the risk , but it does help , so it's something medical. A lot of medical experts recommend to reduce your risk of long Covid.
S1: Well , I've been speaking with Myles Griffiths , co-founder and editor of The Sick Times. Myles , thank you for joining us and thanks for sharing your story. Thanks so much.
S5: For having me on.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
