Respiratory illnesses on the upswing

Michele Bever, South Heartland District Health Department (SHDHD) executive director, is reporting steadily increasing cases of COVID-like Illness (CLI) and influenza-like illness (ILI) locally since September. While Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases remain low in the South Heartland district, there has been a rapid rise in RSV illness statewide over the past 6 weeks.

“With respect to community levels of COVID-19, the SARS-CoV-2 virus levels in wastewater have been trending up steeply since the beginning of November and were very high for the week ending Dec. 3,” Bever said. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19 illness.

Locally, the percent of all emergency room visits related to COVID-like illness tripled from about 2 percent in September to 6 percent in early December, according to Bever. She also reported a local increase in hospitalizations because of COVID-19 over the last month.

“In South Heartland’s hospitals, the number of patients hospitalized because of COVID-19 jumped 280 percent when we compare November with October,” she said. “100 percent of the patients hospitalized for COVID during these two months were either unvaccinated or not up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccine, meaning they had not received a dose of the 2023 monovalent COVID-19 vaccine,” she said.

Bever also noted another death of a South Heartland resident occurred within the past year and was recently attributed to COVID-19. This brings the district’s COVID-19 death total to 161 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Bever expressed concerned about several new variants, including the BA.2.86 (JN.1, also called Pirola) in the United States, which almost tripled in cases during the two-week period ending on Nov 11, 2023 and is currently the third leading COVID variant in the United States. In Region 7 (Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri) Pirola is estimated to make up about 26 percent of the circulating virus that causes COVID-19. This variant has more than 30 mutations compared with the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant.

While Pirola and other variants are gaining ground across the nation, current evidence indicates the monovalent COVID-19 vaccines are expected to increase protection against the variants and to reduce the severity of COVID-19 related outcomes if individuals become infected.

Janis Johnson, a registered nurse and South Heartland’s immunization manager, emphasized the importance of vaccination to reduce the chance of infection, severe illness and long COVID. “The 2023 monovalent COVID-19 vaccine is available at many pharmacies and health clinics, and the vaccine is covered by insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare,” Johnson said. She stated that Bridge Access Program providers, including some clinics, and the South Heartland and Clay County Health Departments, have vaccine available for underinsured and uninsured individuals.

“All of our health department staff are up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccines and we encourage all South Heartland residents to get the 2023 monovalent vaccine to add this layer of protection. This is especially important for staff and residents of long-term care facilities and anyone who works with, lives with, or cares for high-risk individuals,” Johnson said.

“It’s also not too late to get an influenza (flu) shot. We encourage everyone aged 6 months and older to stay up to date on annual flu vaccination, with special emphasis to our high-risk individuals (elderly, pregnant women, healthcare workers). Adults 65 years and older should consider the higher dose,” she said.

To help protect against illness from RSV virus infection, the RSV vaccine is recommended for adults over 60, babies, toddlers, as well as pregnant women (32-36 weeks) to help protect newborns.

Bever emphasized the importance of testing to distinguish among the different respiratory illnesses that share common symptoms so that the right treatment can be used to fend off severe illness. Treatments include antiviral medications for influenza, and Paxlovid for COVID-19.

A nationwide Test-to-Treat program is available to help people quickly access lifesaving treatments for COVID-19 at little to no cost. Test-to-Treat is available at thousands of locations nationwide. More information, along with a Test-to-Treat Site locator, can be found at the Test-to-Treat website: https://aspr.hhs.gov/TestToTreat/. There is also a Home Test to Treat program with free virtual care and treatment for flu and COVID-19: test2treat.org.

In addition, South Heartland’s website southheartlandhealth.org, has current lists of where to get COVID- 19 tests, where to get COVID-19 vaccine, and where to get influenza vaccine.

Bever said that separating from others (self-isolation) continues to be appropriate for individuals who test positive for any of the respiratory illnesses to keep from sharing the virus with others. South Heartland maintains updated guidance for COVID-19 self-quarantine and isolation at: http://www.south heartlandhealth.ne.gov.

“Additional precautions for all of these respiratory illnesses include staying home and away from others when you have symptoms, wearing a mask when you are around vulnerable individuals, and frequent hand washing,” Bever said. “All of these, along with vaccination, are important layers of protection.”