Science
‘Don’t panic.’ How parents with kids too young to vaccinate can navigate Omicron
As waves of the coronavirus battered the U.S., mother and father of younger youngsters may consolation themselves with the information that COVID-19 tends to have milder results in kids and that almost all — however not all — youngsters who get contaminated are wonderful.
However despite the fact that it’s low-risk, many mother and father don’t wish to gamble with their youngsters’ well being. And others is likely to be extra anxious that their youngsters will unfold COVID-19 to aged or immunocompromised family members who may not fare as effectively.
Now the extremely contagious Omicron variant is sending case counts by way of the roof, and most younger youngsters will not be but vaccinated. Kids beneath 5 are nonetheless ineligible for vaccinations, and as of Dec. 29, solely 23% of youngsters 5 to 11, and 53% of 12- to 17-year-olds, are absolutely inoculated in the USA.
With so many unknowns, how will we steadiness defending our households and retaining a way of normalcy?
We requested specialists how mother and father of unvaccinated kids ought to navigate the Omicron surge. They acknowledged that it’s a troublesome state of affairs and emphasised that many of those choices will differ based mostly on every household’s vulnerability and threat tolerance. Right here’s what they advise.
What has modified with Omicron?
Omicron is rather more infectious than earlier variants, however thus far appears to be much less extreme. “The numbers of instances are simply so excessive, actually all over the place,” mentioned Tara Kirk Promote, a senior scholar on the Johns Hopkins Heart for Well being Safety. “And in the event that they’re not excessive but, they are going to be excessive. It’s extremely transmissible.”
Consequently, extra kids are being hospitalized with COVID-19. Nevertheless, specialists imagine the rise correlates with the skyrocketing variety of folks getting contaminated, not the severity of illness the variant causes in youngsters.
This follows the pure development of viruses, defined Dr. Catherine Le, an infectious illness doctor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Heart. Viruses mutate with a view to survive, however they received’t survive in the event that they kill off their hosts. So over time, they typically evolve to be extra infectious however much less harmful.
Signs with Omicron could possibly be barely totally different. “These are early days within the Omicron pandemic, nevertheless it looks as if we’re seeing extra higher respiratory tract signs, together with croup in kids,” mentioned Dr. Grace M. Aldrovandi, professor and chief of infectious illnesses at UCLA Mattel Kids’s Hospital. “Usually, signs in kids are much less extreme than in adults, they usually might have extra gastrointestinal signs, in comparison with adults with COVID.”
Dr. Priya Soni, a pediatric infectious illness specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Heart, mentioned Omicron signs have a tendency to incorporate fevers, dry cough, sore throat, physique aches and night time sweats. “These are actually exhausting to indicate in younger youngsters although,” she mentioned. “So largely, I’m seeing excessive fever and youngsters which have a runny nostril.”
There’s extra we don’t know. With youngsters, “we’re speaking a couple of group that maybe might not be at the next threat, however to let you know the reality, the jury is out,” mentioned Dr. Neha Nanda, medical director of an infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship at Keck Drugs of USC.
For instance, a report from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention confirmed that kids with COVID-19 could possibly be twice as prone to be identified with diabetes after a coronavirus an infection, in comparison with those that had not had the virus.
We additionally don’t know whether or not it’s related to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in kids, generally known as MIS-C, which is “uncommon, however scary,” Le mentioned, as a result of it can lead to organ failure weeks after a coronavirus an infection.
It’s additionally too early for there to be knowledge on whether or not Omicron results in lengthy COVID in youngsters. A nationwide survey in England discovered that as much as 14% of youngsters with COVID-19 previous to Omicron’s emergence had continued signs greater than 12 weeks after analysis.
“These youngsters had impacts in fatigue, headache, insomnia, hassle concentrating, and it actually, actually restricted their high quality of life and participation in class,” Soni mentioned.
What hasn’t modified?
All of the protecting measures we’ve taken because the starting of the pandemic are nonetheless necessary now. When there may be much less COVID-19 in the neighborhood, there may be much less threat and extra room for leisure, however the surge is an effective time to ramp up your masking, social distancing, hand-washing and different security protocols, specialists say.
That is true particularly for youths as a result of if they’re hanging out with different kids — for instance, in school or day care — there’s a excessive likelihood that they’re hanging out with youngsters who aren’t vaccinated.
Which youngsters are most susceptible?
“Kids lower than a 12 months of age, these with persistent sicknesses — neurologic, immunologic or respiratory circumstances — and those that are overweight have the next threat of turning into very sick with the SARS-CoV-2 sickness,” Aldrovandi mentioned.
These embrace kids who’ve a historical past of leukemia, are getting chemotherapy or are transplant recipients, Soni mentioned.
Dr. Kawsar R. Talaat, affiliate professor of worldwide well being on the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Faculty of Public Well being, inspired anxious mother and father to speak to their pediatrician. “There are some youngsters who possibly must be stored at house and protected against others till the surge resolves,” she mentioned. “It’s a really particular person dialog between the mother and father and the docs: what their dangers are and methods to greatest shield their youngsters.”
What can involved mother and father do?
Ensure that everybody round your youngsters who’s eligible is vaccinated and boosted. If in case you have a get-together, it’s much less dangerous if all of the adults round them are masked, vaccinated and boosted. This creates a protecting cocoon round them, Talaat mentioned. In case you ship your youngsters to day care, it’s necessary to know that the staff are vaccinated, boosted and masked — and that in the event that they get sick, they don’t have to come back to work.
Having a assist system of people who find themselves vaccinated and boosted additionally means you may need assist in case you take a look at optimistic and wish to isolate out of your youngsters, mentioned Kirk Promote, who encourages mother and father to make plans for numerous attainable eventualities.
Masks up, even when exterior. “We now suggest that kids, whilst they’re going again to highschool, stay masked in closely populated out of doors areas,” Soni mentioned.
This consists of playgrounds, the place there are many youngsters in the identical space.
Dad and mom also needs to transfer towards higher high quality masks for youths — resembling surgical masks or KN95s — in the event that they haven’t already, Aldrovandi mentioned. She recommends the web site cleanaircrew.org/kids-masks as a useful resource.
Consultants don’t suggest masks for kids beneath 2 due to the chance of suffocation, so mother and father of youngsters in that age group would possibly select to socially distance extra, relying on their consolation stage.
Keep away from crowds of individuals. Suellen Hopfer, an assistant professor of public well being at UC Irvine, advisable avoiding locations the place there are lots of people gathered, particularly indoors. She additionally advisable deferring journey plans.
Get youngsters examined. Youngsters get many colds, so it’s necessary to check after they have signs to see if it’s COVID-19, Soni mentioned.
Testing in kids is usually the identical as adults, however the problem is to get the kid to cooperate. “Even earlier than COVID, we’d carry out nasopharyngeal swabs in kids, together with infants, to diagnose respiratory viral infections,” Aldrovandi mentioned. “The virus is identical in kids and adults, so fast checks can be utilized in kids.”
Testing websites can differ by way of security, she mentioned. “This virus is unfold by way of the air so you will need to go to a testing web site with good air flow — exterior or in your automobile — [and where] persons are carrying high-quality masks and stored distanced.”
Your pediatrician’s workplace also needs to have the ability to take a look at.
When they’re eligible, get them vaccinated. As a result of COVID-19 is unpredictable, specialists urge mother and father to vaccinate their youngsters. A Moderna pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for kids 6 months to five years previous could possibly be licensed in late March or early April, and Pfizer and BioNTech are anticipated to submit knowledge to regulators to assist authorization of their vaccine within the first half of the 12 months.
“You’re stopping the potential for lengthy COVID and MIS-C,” Soni mentioned. “We should always really feel very assured within the security of this vaccine to be giving it to those youngsters on this age.”
Additionally, you’re making it much less doubtless your child may unfold the coronavirus. “It simply makes you a large number much less anxious about it,” Kirk Promote mentioned.
Attempt to keep calm “Dad and mom’ anxiousness could be sensed by younger kids,” Aldrovandi mentioned. “It’s important that oldsters try to mannequin methods to react to tense conditions. Dad and mom ought to attempt to lower their very own anxiousness by staying targeted on the current and never be overly involved about worst-case eventualities. Establishing routines can assist each dad or mum and little one.”
“There’s no zero-risk situation,” Kirk Promote mentioned. As an alternative, she mentioned, it’s about having low threat and a life that works for you.
All these specialists reiterated that almost all youngsters, in the event that they get contaminated with the coronavirus — Omicron or in any other case — shall be OK. “We hope that they received’t need to expertise it,” Talaat mentioned. “However don’t panic.”
A cluster of workers at Ventura County berry farms have been diagnosed with a rare disease often transmitted through sick animals’ urine, according to a public health advisory distributed to local doctors by county health officials Tuesday.
The bacterial infection, leptospirosis, has resulted in severe symptoms for some workers, including meningitis, an inflammation of the brain lining and spinal cord. Symptoms for mild cases included headaches and fevers.
The disease, which can be fatal, rarely spreads from human to human, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ventura County Public Health has not given an official case count but said it had not identified any cases outside of the agriculture sector. The county’s agriculture commissioner was aware of 18 cases, the Ventura County Star reported.
The health department said it was first contacted by a local physician in October, who reported an unusual trend in symptoms among hospital patients.
After launching an investigation, the department identified leptospirosis as a probable cause of the illness and found most patients worked on caneberry farms that utilize hoop houses — greenhouse structures to shelter the crops.
As the investigation to identify any additional cases and the exact sources of exposure continues, Ventura County Public Health has asked healthcare providers to consider a leptospirosis diagnosis for sick agricultural workers, particularly berry harvesters.
Rodents are a common source and transmitter of disease, though other mammals — including livestock, cats and dogs — can transmit it as well.
The disease is spread through bodily fluids, such as urine, and is often contracted through cuts and abrasions that contact contaminated water and soil, where the bacteria can survive for months.
Humans can also contract the illness through contaminated food; however, the county health agency has found no known health risks to the general public, including through the contact or consumption of caneberries such as raspberries and blackberries.
Symptom onset typically occurs between two and 30 days after exposure, and symptoms can last for months if untreated, according to the CDC.
The illness often begins with mild symptoms, with fevers, chills, vomiting and headaches. Some cases can then enter a second, more severe phase that can result in kidney or liver failure.
Ventura County Public Health recommends agriculture and berry harvesters regularly rinse any cuts with soap and water and cover them with bandages. They also recommend wearing waterproof clothing and protection while working outdoors, including gloves and long-sleeve shirts and pants.
While there is no evidence of spread to the larger community, according to the department, residents should wash hands frequently and work to control rodents around their property if possible.
Pet owners can consult a veterinarian about leptospirosis vaccinations and should keep pets away from ponds, lakes and other natural bodies of water.
It’s been two weeks since Donald Trump won the presidential election, but Stacey Lamirand’s brain hasn’t stopped churning.
“I still think about the election all the time,” said the 60-year-old Bay Area resident, who wanted a Kamala Harris victory so badly that she flew to Pennsylvania and knocked on voters’ doors in the final days of the campaign. “I honestly don’t know what to do about that.”
Neither do the psychologists and political scientists who have been tracking the country’s slide toward toxic levels of partisanship.
Fully 69% of U.S. adults found the presidential election a significant source of stress in their lives, the American Psychological Assn. said in its latest Stress in America report.
The distress was present across the political spectrum, with 80% of Republicans, 79% of Democrats and 73% of independents surveyed saying they were stressed about the country’s future.
That’s unhealthy for the body politic — and for voters themselves. Stress can cause muscle tension, headaches, sleep problems and loss of appetite. Chronic stress can inflict more serious damage to the immune system and make people more vulnerable to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, infertility, clinical anxiety, depression and other ailments.
In most circumstances, the sound medical advice is to disengage from the source of stress, therapists said. But when stress is coming from politics, that prescription pits the health of the individual against the health of the nation.
“I’m worried about people totally withdrawing from politics because it’s unpleasant,” said Aaron Weinschenk, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay who studies political behavior and elections. “We don’t want them to do that. But we also don’t want them to feel sick.”
Modern life is full of stressors of all kinds: paying bills, pleasing difficult bosses, getting along with frenemies, caring for children or aging parents (or both).
The stress that stems from politics isn’t fundamentally different from other kinds of stress. What’s unique about it is the way it encompasses and enhances other sources of stress, said Brett Ford, a social psychologist at the University of Toronto who studies the link between emotions and political engagement.
For instance, she said, elections have the potential to make everyday stressors like money and health concerns more difficult to manage as candidates debate policies that could raise the price of gas or cut off access to certain kinds of medical care.
Layered on top of that is the fact that political disagreements have morphed into moral conflicts that are perceived as pitting good against evil.
“When someone comes into power who is not on the same page as you morally, that can hit very deeply,” Ford said.
Partisanship and polarization have raised the stakes as well. Voters who feel a strong connection to a political party become more invested in its success. That can make a loss at the ballot box feel like a personal defeat, she said.
There’s also the fact that we have limited control over the outcome of an election. A patient with heart disease can improve their prognosis by taking medicine, changing their diet, getting more exercise or quitting smoking. But a person with political stress is largely at the mercy of others.
“Politics is many forms of stress all rolled into one,” Ford said.
Weinschenk observed this firsthand the day after the election.
“I could feel it when I went into my classroom,” said the professor, whose research has found that people with political anxiety aren’t necessarily anxious in general. “I have a student who’s transgender and a couple of students who are gay. Their emotional state was so closed down.”
That’s almost to be expected in a place like Wisconsin, whose swing-state status caused residents to be bombarded with political messages. The more campaign ads a person is exposed to, the greater the risk of being diagnosed with anxiety, depression or another psychological ailment, according to a 2022 study in the journal PLOS One.
Political messages seem designed to keep voters “emotionally on edge,” said Vaile Wright, a licensed psychologist in Villa Park, Ill., and a member of the APA’s Stress in America team.
“It encourages emotion to drive our decision-making behavior, as opposed to logic,” Wright said. “When we’re really emotionally stimulated, it makes it so much more challenging to have civil conversation. For politicians, I think that’s powerful, because emotions can be very easily manipulated.”
Making voters feel anxious is a tried-and-true way to grab their attention, said Christopher Ojeda, a political scientist at UC Merced who studies mental health and politics.
“Feelings of anxiety can be mobilizing, definitely,” he said. “That’s why politicians make fear appeals — they want people to get engaged.”
On the other hand, “feelings of depression are demobilizing and take you out of the political system,” said Ojeda, author of “The Sad Citizen: How Politics is Depressing and Why it Matters.”
“What [these feelings] can tell you is, ‘Things aren’t going the way I want them to. Maybe I need to step back,’” he said.
Genessa Krasnow has been seeing a lot of that since the election.
The Seattle entrepreneur, who also campaigned for Harris, said it grates on her to see people laughing in restaurants “as if nothing had happened.” At a recent book club meeting, her fellow group members were willing to let her vent about politics for five minutes, but they weren’t interested in discussing ways they could counteract the incoming president.
“They’re in a state of disengagement,” said Krasnow, who is 56. She, meanwhile, is looking for new ways to reach young voters.
“I am exhausted. I am so sad,” she said. “But I don’t believe that disengaging is the answer.”
That’s the fundamental trade-off, Ojeda said, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
“Everyone has to make a decision about how much engagement they can tolerate without undermining their psychological well-being,” he said.
Lamirand took steps to protect her mental health by cutting social media ties with people whose values aren’t aligned with hers. But she will remain politically active and expects to volunteer for phone-banking duty soon.
“Doing something is the only thing that allows me to feel better,” Lamirand said. “It allows me to feel some level of control.”
Ideally, Ford said, people would not have to choose between being politically active and preserving their mental health. She is investigating ways to help people feel hopeful, inspired and compassionate about political challenges, since these emotions can motivate action without triggering stress and anxiety.
“We want to counteract this pattern where the more involved you are, the worse you are,” Ford said.
The benefits would be felt across the political spectrum. In the APA survey, similar shares of Democrats, Republicans and independents agreed with statements like, “It causes me stress that politicians aren’t talking about the things that are most important to me,” and, “The political climate has caused strain between my family members and me.”
“Both sides are very invested in this country, and that is a good thing,” Wright said. “Antipathy and hopelessness really doesn’t serve us in the long run.”
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