Pandemic Fatigue: I get it!

From what I’m seeing in the field, we may be sick of it, but we cannot zone out!  It seems highly odd to me, that right at the same time the extremely contagious Omicron variant and its “mutant offspring” are sweeping our country, we have decided to no longer require masks to be worn.

Please, be smarter than our policy makers and always wear a mask whenever you are around other people, especially indoors and in outdoor crowded areas as well.  Be polite and wear a mask whenever you are around the elderly and vulnerable people. It shows respect and kindness, and will save lives.

Many of you want to know whether you should get the next booster. If you’re over 65, pretty much yes.  Each of us needs to assess our exposure risk.  If you work among young people, you should: teachers and sports coaches.  If you have a frontline job interacting with the public, then yes.  If you mostly work from home and only go out for groceries and wear a mask when you do, you can probably postpone getting a 2nd booster.  Studies show that there is a fairly robust/reliable result that will protect you from severe illness for a six week window, so if you are low risk, perhaps in late summer before Autumn.

And should you vaccinate your school age children?  Generally, yes.  Given the environment in which we find ourselves, it is our best course to take.  There are of course exceptions to consider, and for more sensitive children, one must carefully weigh the risks and benefits of the vaccine against the risks of the child becoming sick with Covid, and spreading it to others. Omicron is observed to be as contagious or more so than measles, in which one person can expect to infect 10 people.  Things like quercetin, Vit D, Vit C, and Omega 3 oils can reduce the possibility of an adverse side effect—start them at least 3 days before the vaccine and continue for a week.

With Omicron causing more breakthrough infections and evading molecular tests such as PCR and Rapid Antigen, it would be far more effective to be getting a booster that is retooled towards Omicron. The question is: since mRNA vaccine technology is good for quick and easy reformulations, where are they? Why are we still being vaccinated for and testing for the Alpha variant, from 2020?

Deaths from breakthrough infections with Omicron are on the rise.  It makes sense, since the Omicron variant is so different from the Alpha variant, we are vaccinating and boosting in a way that is inefficient.  Should you become sick with Covid now, you will need a positive test result (which Omicron is good at evading) and an Rx from an MD in order to receive Paxlovid, the very expensive pill by Pfizer…a one week dose of the drug costs more than $500, hopefully paid for by your insurance.  Aside from having numerous drug interactions and numerous negative side effects, it has been shown to prevent serious illness and hospitalization.  You can still go and receive an infusion of monoclonal antibodies, if you have a positive test result with symptoms, and are in a high-risk group.  Of the various MCA cocktails out there, only one of the antibodies, contained in Regeneron is effective against Omicron.  Even though deaths are still significantly lower overall than the Alpha and Delta waves, deaths in the current surge from breakthrough infections of the Omicron variant account for 20%.

I got the Moderna Booster back on January 24, 2022.  Other than a sore arm and a mild headache I was fine.  I still do suffer from tinnitus from the J&J Vaccine last year.

Here’s the frequent clinical scenario I did not expect to see: most of you are vaccinated and boosted, take good care of yourselves and have remained on the “pre-Covid” protocol for robust immunity.  Then, an Omicron breakthrough infection occurs, which seems mild, and so you “coast” through the illness.  A few weeks later, the massive fatigue and debilitating brain fog persist.  This is long Covid…that which we really wish to avoid.  My informed observation is that these symptoms are from tissue damage done by the immune system while it was fighting the virus.  When we do targeted functional medicine for healing the myocardium (heart muscle) and for stopping brain inflammation, health and wellbeing are restored.  But it is no walk in the park!  It is far better to absolutely minimize the illness as soon as you get it.  I recommend getting on the active immune support protocol as soon as you feel sick.  

What have you observed in the Omicron wave?

Together, we can reduce the spread of Omicron…be vigilant about wearing a mask, and treat it aggressively should you or loved ones become sick with Covid, even if you get a negative test result.

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Copyright © 2022 Dr. Jeanette Ryan, DC, IFMCP, All rights reserved.
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