Friday Q&A: answering your COVID questions

🦠 Giddy up for more on COVID 🦠

ICYMI 👉

• Five Things To Do When You Get COVID

• YOUR GUIDE TO FALL/WINTER VIRUSES & VACCINES

• My conversation with Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, public health expert at UCSF

  Monica Gandhi on What's Next with COVID

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Questions #1 and 2 (about COVID boosters & masks) are free for everyone; questions #3 and 4 (about risk mitigation & long COVID) are for paid subscribers only.

Click here to submit your questions (about anything) for future Q&A posts!

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are entirely my own. They do not reflect those of my employer, nor are they a substitute for advice from your personal physician.

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QUESTION #1: TIME BETWEEN BOOSTERS

I got a COVID booster one month ago because I will be traveling internationally starting next week and the new booster was not due out until after I left. But now it’s available later this week! How long do I need to wait before getting the new booster? Is one month too soon between old and new booster? -Cynthia

Dear Cynthia,

The CDC’s recommendation to wait at least 2 months after an infection or last vaccine dose to get boosted make sense. Why? Because boosting sooner than 60 days interferes with our B cells’ ability to create antibodies. I might suggest waiting more like 4-6 months after the last booster to get another one. Public health experts Drs. Shira Doron and Monica Gandhi suggest waiting 6 months after either a vaccine dose or infection to get a COVID booster. They explain here that “extended intervals between vaccine doses increase both neutralising antibodies and memory B cells.”

Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

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QUESTION #2: MASKS

I always want to ask, “masks work to do what, and for how long?” I’m not sure that even a fit-tested mask will protect against exposure for more than a couple hours. Staying away from an infected person probably would help the most to avoid/delay an infection, as well as prioritizing sleep, eating good quality food, getting exercise, and spending time outdoors during the day, do I have this right? -Helen

Yes, Helen! I couldn’t have said it better myself! 🎉

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QUESTION #3: MAKING RISK ASSESSMENTS

How do family members live their lives and yet also protect those in their family who ARE vulnerable/higher risk for Covid complications? We have members with autoimmune disease as well as elderly family members. All had Covid and have been and will continue to be boosted, yet in spite of that landed in the hospital, ICU, etc. How can the rest of us be a part of their lives, take them to appointments etc? What precautions should be taken? Thanks for the insight. Some of the elder's physicians have said they should simply stay home. Yet for the elders, they want to be involved and social. -Beth

Dear Beth,