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Post Holiday COVID-19 Surge: The Omicron Variant
Melissa Deen, BSN, RN, PHN covers current COVID surge, discusses the importance of getting vaccinated, boosted, wearing masks.
Featuring:
Melissa Deen, BSN, RN, PHN
Melissa Deen, BSN, RN, PHN is an Infection Prevention Manager at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital. Transcription:
Scott Webb (Host): It's hard to believe, but we are entering our third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and in light of variants, like Omicron and a rise in hospitalizations, it's a good time to have on Melissa Dean. She's the Infection Prevention Manager at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital. This is Ask the Experts, a podcast from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System.
I'm Scott Webb. Melissa, thanks for your time today. We just started year three of this brutal and sometimes deadly COVID-19 pandemic. It's definitely not where we thought we would be a year ago when the vaccines became available right. Throughout the country and right here in the central coast, we're seeing a major surge in COVID 19 infections, sickness, and hospitalizations.
The truth is people are dying though, maybe not as many as a year ago, pre-vaccines. And in just the last couple of weeks after the Christmas holiday, SVMH had up to 31 patients hospitalized. I know it's a lot, but what are your thoughts on all of this?
Melissa Deen, BSN, RN, PHN (Guest): In regards to our admissions after the holiday, we were really blessed in that majority of our patients that we were seeing were vaccinated or boostered, which was a blessing. The nurses commented about what a difference that makes for them and for their patient populations. What we're seeing is mild to moderate disease. We are seeing some people unvaccinated and some people with severe illness, but the majority of what we're seeing currently in our inpatient areas are people with extremely mild to asymptomatic, and that is hopeful for all of us. We really like to see that. We're isolating people because they've tested positive, and they're mild disease and minimal support, and that they're going to go home healthy and happy. That's really important to us. And so we're seeing a shift. It might be the new variant because we are aware that it is a more mild, less severe variant, even though it is highly communicable in how it spreads.
Host: So, Omicron is the newest variant. And as you say, it's spread more easily, yet, the symptomology, or the effects on people, it is relatively minor, especially, or maybe only if you're vaccinated and boostered, if I can use that as a verb. So, what else have we learned about Omicron so far?
Melissa: We're seeing a higher rate of people testing positive related to exposure. We're seeing an increase in hospitalizations, but they're people with other health symptoms and that's what's bringing them in not COVID symptoms. We're seeing minimal support, you know, maybe some medication, maybe some minimal oxygen. We're starting to see some more moderate to severe disease, with our higher risk populations, even though they're vaccinated, we're still seeing populations because of cancer histories or high-risk histories. But we're really happy to see the amount of people vaccinated, no matter what the severity of illness is. Because that prognosis is so positive and those people go home to their families, and to their loved ones, and back into the community, instead of what we were seeing last year, which was so drastically different.
Host: I've been wanting to ask an expert and so the name of the podcast and I have an expert on, so I'm going to ask you, can you help all of us understand the difference between isolation and quarantine? They're not the same thing. And I think there's a lot of confusion and maybe misinformation about which is which, and when to do one or the other. So maybe you can shed some light on that for us.
Melissa: So isolation is for people that are symptomatic. We tend to use isolation here and obviously here in the hospital and that type of language. So, we put a patient on isolation for the duration of what's required from the CDC, it's usually 10 days for our mild to moderate patients, 20 days or more for our severe or immuno compromised patients.
But home isolation AKA quarantine meaning that you were tested positive. You may have some mild to moderate symptoms and you're required to stay home and what they call self-isolate or quarantine. And that can be five days or up to 10 days if they have symptoms.
Host: Okay. And also there's that maybe we were exposed, maybe we weren't. And I think that that's where a lot of folks get confused. Maybe you can help us to sort of sort that out. What should we do if we think we've been exposed? What's the protocol?
Melissa: If an individual is not up to date on their vaccine, meaning that they did not receive their booster and they were exposed, the CDC recommends that you quarantine for at least five days. That means staying at home for five full days, and wearing a fitted mask, around others at home. They recommend to get tested, even if you don't develop symptoms, at least five days after you've had that close contact with someone. Now, tests are hard to come by and we understand that. After quarantine, they're asking that you watch for symptoms for at least 10 days, and that you're masking when you're out and about. If you are symptomatic or do develop symptoms, you should get tested. You look for those test sites in your area. You can always go to your local county or state health department and they can recommend appropriate testing sites for you. So five if exposed. Get tested. Watch for symptoms for 10 days. If you do become symptomatic, you have to be on a isolation for a full ten days.
Host: So Melissa, when we talk about masks, there's definitely a lot of them out there and a lot of confusion and people are wondering now, well, if I can't get an N95 or a KN95, should I be doubling up? So, I wanted to ask your opinion on that. Should we double up on masks? If we can't get the, you know, the really good stuff, you know, are our cloth masks good enough? Maybe you can take us through all of this information, misinformation, and really clarify for folks what they should be doing with what they have or what they should buy and so on.
Melissa: I was looking through and checking before we spoke today and CDPH put out this wonderful, graphic that explains exactly what you're asking. Cloth masks are fair as far as protection. You need one that fits well and has at least three layers. It's really important that you're washing them daily in the warmest temperature and drying at the warmest temperature. A cloth mask is better than no mask. And that's how we see it. Balaclavas, bandanas, scarves are not the same as a cloth mask. The triple layer is the importance. Surgical masks are good. Obviously as long as you are changing them out regularly. Better is a KF94, KN95 surgical mask.
Those are high particulate masks and they filter more particles than a regular surgical mask will. And then of course, best is an N95. Now an N95 is a hospital grade, FDA approved mask that the medical community uses when we're doing invasive procedures with the lung. And it is a requirement that our clinical staff wear that. You don't necessarily need it in the private sector, you know when you're going to the grocery store to buy bananas and milk. But obviously, you know, there's a level or scale of what's great and what's okay. And it goes to purpose and why you're wearing it and what you're wearing it for.
Double masking isn't something I am totally confident with. I think that as long as you're wearing one mask and you're wearing it properly is the important factor. So, many times, when I'm out in the public, I see people where their nose is uncovered, or it's under their chin or it's, you know, hanging off their ear. You want to wear it properly and effectively so that it protects you. It protects your family and you're protecting the people around you.
Host: What's the actual website that we could direct folks to so they could kind of see what you're working from.
Melissa: It's cdph.org. It's California Department of Public Health.org, is a great resource. Also the CDC, which is, cdc.gov. And actually have graphics for people of what masks to wear, how to wear them, et cetera. And it's a wonderful resource and it's all free information.
Host: And one thing I know we can trust and you and I are in total agreement is about the vaccines and you've mentioned that already today, but specifically about children, right? Maybe you can just go through for listeners, the importance and the safety of having children vaccinated and just in general, having everybody vaccinated that we could actually end this pandemic, if we could get there, that promised land of, you know, as many people as possible vaccinated, right?
Melissa: That's correct. We're hopeful that there will be a vaccine soon for six month old to five-year-olds. It might be that they release, you know, three to five vaccine and then a three and under or two and under. It, it just depends on what the FDA is gonna be able to do. But yes, anybody five and older can be vaccinated. It's important that if you have had a vaccine and you've had both your vaccines, to get your booster within six to eight months of your last vaccine for COVID. In addition, anybody who's high risk. Anybody over 50, anybody with cardiac or other health issues, people that are immuno compromised, we're really encouraging them to keep up with their vaccines or to get vaccinated as soon as possible. And we're hopeful and encouraged when we see, you know, our admission population, for vaccination is increased from this time last year, and even six months ago, we've seen a significant shift. But it's important for the community at large, that we get vaccinated.
Host: Absolutely. You know, and you used the word hopeful a number of times and I'm with you. I am hopeful that we there. We just want to remind folks don't delay care, right? Wear your masks. Don't gather. Everybody do their part and remain hopeful. I really appreciate your time. You stay well.
Melissa: Thank you so much, Scott.
Host: For more information on COVID-19 please visit svmh.com. And be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And if you found this podcast to be helpful, please be sure to tell a friend, neighbor or family member and subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and check out the entire podcast library for additional topics of interest.
This is Ask the Experts from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. I'm Scott Webb. Stay well, and we'll talk again next time.
Scott Webb (Host): It's hard to believe, but we are entering our third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and in light of variants, like Omicron and a rise in hospitalizations, it's a good time to have on Melissa Dean. She's the Infection Prevention Manager at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital. This is Ask the Experts, a podcast from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System.
I'm Scott Webb. Melissa, thanks for your time today. We just started year three of this brutal and sometimes deadly COVID-19 pandemic. It's definitely not where we thought we would be a year ago when the vaccines became available right. Throughout the country and right here in the central coast, we're seeing a major surge in COVID 19 infections, sickness, and hospitalizations.
The truth is people are dying though, maybe not as many as a year ago, pre-vaccines. And in just the last couple of weeks after the Christmas holiday, SVMH had up to 31 patients hospitalized. I know it's a lot, but what are your thoughts on all of this?
Melissa Deen, BSN, RN, PHN (Guest): In regards to our admissions after the holiday, we were really blessed in that majority of our patients that we were seeing were vaccinated or boostered, which was a blessing. The nurses commented about what a difference that makes for them and for their patient populations. What we're seeing is mild to moderate disease. We are seeing some people unvaccinated and some people with severe illness, but the majority of what we're seeing currently in our inpatient areas are people with extremely mild to asymptomatic, and that is hopeful for all of us. We really like to see that. We're isolating people because they've tested positive, and they're mild disease and minimal support, and that they're going to go home healthy and happy. That's really important to us. And so we're seeing a shift. It might be the new variant because we are aware that it is a more mild, less severe variant, even though it is highly communicable in how it spreads.
Host: So, Omicron is the newest variant. And as you say, it's spread more easily, yet, the symptomology, or the effects on people, it is relatively minor, especially, or maybe only if you're vaccinated and boostered, if I can use that as a verb. So, what else have we learned about Omicron so far?
Melissa: We're seeing a higher rate of people testing positive related to exposure. We're seeing an increase in hospitalizations, but they're people with other health symptoms and that's what's bringing them in not COVID symptoms. We're seeing minimal support, you know, maybe some medication, maybe some minimal oxygen. We're starting to see some more moderate to severe disease, with our higher risk populations, even though they're vaccinated, we're still seeing populations because of cancer histories or high-risk histories. But we're really happy to see the amount of people vaccinated, no matter what the severity of illness is. Because that prognosis is so positive and those people go home to their families, and to their loved ones, and back into the community, instead of what we were seeing last year, which was so drastically different.
Host: I've been wanting to ask an expert and so the name of the podcast and I have an expert on, so I'm going to ask you, can you help all of us understand the difference between isolation and quarantine? They're not the same thing. And I think there's a lot of confusion and maybe misinformation about which is which, and when to do one or the other. So maybe you can shed some light on that for us.
Melissa: So isolation is for people that are symptomatic. We tend to use isolation here and obviously here in the hospital and that type of language. So, we put a patient on isolation for the duration of what's required from the CDC, it's usually 10 days for our mild to moderate patients, 20 days or more for our severe or immuno compromised patients.
But home isolation AKA quarantine meaning that you were tested positive. You may have some mild to moderate symptoms and you're required to stay home and what they call self-isolate or quarantine. And that can be five days or up to 10 days if they have symptoms.
Host: Okay. And also there's that maybe we were exposed, maybe we weren't. And I think that that's where a lot of folks get confused. Maybe you can help us to sort of sort that out. What should we do if we think we've been exposed? What's the protocol?
Melissa: If an individual is not up to date on their vaccine, meaning that they did not receive their booster and they were exposed, the CDC recommends that you quarantine for at least five days. That means staying at home for five full days, and wearing a fitted mask, around others at home. They recommend to get tested, even if you don't develop symptoms, at least five days after you've had that close contact with someone. Now, tests are hard to come by and we understand that. After quarantine, they're asking that you watch for symptoms for at least 10 days, and that you're masking when you're out and about. If you are symptomatic or do develop symptoms, you should get tested. You look for those test sites in your area. You can always go to your local county or state health department and they can recommend appropriate testing sites for you. So five if exposed. Get tested. Watch for symptoms for 10 days. If you do become symptomatic, you have to be on a isolation for a full ten days.
Host: So Melissa, when we talk about masks, there's definitely a lot of them out there and a lot of confusion and people are wondering now, well, if I can't get an N95 or a KN95, should I be doubling up? So, I wanted to ask your opinion on that. Should we double up on masks? If we can't get the, you know, the really good stuff, you know, are our cloth masks good enough? Maybe you can take us through all of this information, misinformation, and really clarify for folks what they should be doing with what they have or what they should buy and so on.
Melissa: I was looking through and checking before we spoke today and CDPH put out this wonderful, graphic that explains exactly what you're asking. Cloth masks are fair as far as protection. You need one that fits well and has at least three layers. It's really important that you're washing them daily in the warmest temperature and drying at the warmest temperature. A cloth mask is better than no mask. And that's how we see it. Balaclavas, bandanas, scarves are not the same as a cloth mask. The triple layer is the importance. Surgical masks are good. Obviously as long as you are changing them out regularly. Better is a KF94, KN95 surgical mask.
Those are high particulate masks and they filter more particles than a regular surgical mask will. And then of course, best is an N95. Now an N95 is a hospital grade, FDA approved mask that the medical community uses when we're doing invasive procedures with the lung. And it is a requirement that our clinical staff wear that. You don't necessarily need it in the private sector, you know when you're going to the grocery store to buy bananas and milk. But obviously, you know, there's a level or scale of what's great and what's okay. And it goes to purpose and why you're wearing it and what you're wearing it for.
Double masking isn't something I am totally confident with. I think that as long as you're wearing one mask and you're wearing it properly is the important factor. So, many times, when I'm out in the public, I see people where their nose is uncovered, or it's under their chin or it's, you know, hanging off their ear. You want to wear it properly and effectively so that it protects you. It protects your family and you're protecting the people around you.
Host: What's the actual website that we could direct folks to so they could kind of see what you're working from.
Melissa: It's cdph.org. It's California Department of Public Health.org, is a great resource. Also the CDC, which is, cdc.gov. And actually have graphics for people of what masks to wear, how to wear them, et cetera. And it's a wonderful resource and it's all free information.
Host: And one thing I know we can trust and you and I are in total agreement is about the vaccines and you've mentioned that already today, but specifically about children, right? Maybe you can just go through for listeners, the importance and the safety of having children vaccinated and just in general, having everybody vaccinated that we could actually end this pandemic, if we could get there, that promised land of, you know, as many people as possible vaccinated, right?
Melissa: That's correct. We're hopeful that there will be a vaccine soon for six month old to five-year-olds. It might be that they release, you know, three to five vaccine and then a three and under or two and under. It, it just depends on what the FDA is gonna be able to do. But yes, anybody five and older can be vaccinated. It's important that if you have had a vaccine and you've had both your vaccines, to get your booster within six to eight months of your last vaccine for COVID. In addition, anybody who's high risk. Anybody over 50, anybody with cardiac or other health issues, people that are immuno compromised, we're really encouraging them to keep up with their vaccines or to get vaccinated as soon as possible. And we're hopeful and encouraged when we see, you know, our admission population, for vaccination is increased from this time last year, and even six months ago, we've seen a significant shift. But it's important for the community at large, that we get vaccinated.
Host: Absolutely. You know, and you used the word hopeful a number of times and I'm with you. I am hopeful that we there. We just want to remind folks don't delay care, right? Wear your masks. Don't gather. Everybody do their part and remain hopeful. I really appreciate your time. You stay well.
Melissa: Thank you so much, Scott.
Host: For more information on COVID-19 please visit svmh.com. And be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And if you found this podcast to be helpful, please be sure to tell a friend, neighbor or family member and subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and check out the entire podcast library for additional topics of interest.
This is Ask the Experts from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. I'm Scott Webb. Stay well, and we'll talk again next time.