concern now are descendants of Omicron, which caused a huge surge of infections in 2021/22. If you're interested, the major new variant is JN.1, and there are two subvariants of that ((KP.2 and KP.3) that are currently responsible for much of the activity right now. Scientists have found that the older vaccines are generally not all that effective against these new variants. The ability of the virus to change itself is much of the reason we keep seeing surges in infection rates.
disease- and vaccine-induced immunity wane over time. The more people vaccinated, the less opportunity for the virus to find places to live, replicate, and mutate into new variants.
etime in September or October. Yes, you'll have two sore arms (or one VERY sore arm!) for a day or two. But then you'll be protected when the viruses are in full swing. And don't forget to ask if you're up to date on your RSV and pneumonia vaccines, too. Protecting yourself from infectious diseases is easiest when you're up to date on all your vaccines.
I had a bad case of covid back in late 2021. They never told me which variant that I had. Is there a reason that that information is not shared?
Good question Tony,
The quick answer is that variant identification isn’t done for most patients, so there isn’t anything to share. The Covid tests don’t differentiate between variants. So to identify which variant each person has, gene sequencing would need to be done for everyone. For the most part, the acute treatment plan is the same regardless of the variant, so instead of testing everyone experts just do random sampling to get an idea of trends. For example what new variants are out there, whether the old ones are still present, whether current treatments are still working despite changes in the variants we’re seeing. Over time some treatment plans have changed because they were no longer effective against the majority of the viruses circulating. And experts knew that because they watched the trends with random sampling. It would have taken a lot of time, personnel, and dollars to test every infection, especially during the surge of late 2021.
I had a significant increase in the number of atrial fibrillation episodes experienced after receiving the last covid vaccine. Do you have any information about cardiac reactions to the vaccine?
Hi Martha,
Thanks for your interesting question. I was able to find this article that looked at cases of atrial fibrillation after Covid vaccines. I was surprised to see that AF was reported, though in a very small number of people who got vaccinated. More in those who already had a diagnosis of AF than who didn’t. The authors didn’t posit a reason for the possible side effect, and I’ve not seen it listed anywhere else. Had you already had three or four Covid before that with no problem?
Just curious – if I receive both Covid and flu vaccines at the same time and have an adverse or severe reaction, can it be determined which vaccine caused it?
That’s a good question Diane.
When multiple vaccinations are given at the same time it’s hard to tell for sure. Think of kids who sometimes get several at one doctor visit. For typical (though uncomfortable) adverse reactions like fever, aches, swelling and pain at the injection site, it probably doesn’t matter too much, since all vaccines can cause those symptoms and they don’t mean the vaccine can’t be given again. But for more severe problems, it would be important to report to the Vaers system. The more information the system has about vaccine-related adverse effects, and which vaccines might cause them, the more the researchers can learn about their safety.
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