KPCC: CDC Panel Recommendations, Concerns About Winter Surge and More
KPCC’s AirTalk With Larry Mantle recently spoke with Cedars-Sinai infectious disease specialist Catherine Le, MD, co-director of the Cedars-Sinai COVID-19 Recovery Program, for AirTalk’s daily update on COVID-19 developments.
The day's topics included cancellation of a UCLA Bruins basketball game and performances of “A Christmas Carol” at the Ahmanson Theatre after players and cast members tested positive for the virus. Los Angeles County also tightened health requirements at large events in anticipation of a possible surge driven by the omicron variant.
"Cases are really starting to double every single day, which really reflects this new variant’s high transmissibility," Le told Mantle. "The county is really trying to stay ahead of it."
Le supported the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s embrace of policies that allow close contacts of students infected with COVID-19 to remain in attendance at school if they test negative for the virus, calling education a public health concern as well.
Le also fielded listener questions about long COVID-19, which causes patients to experience symptoms weeks or months after their initial infection is cleared. She told Mantle there isn’t data to back up anecdotal evidence that vaccination or boosting cures the condition. Still, "I'll take any ammunition I can get to get my patients to get vaccinated," she said.
She urged families planning holiday gatherings to consider everyone’s vaccination status, overall health and travel plans, as well as the size of the gathering, and to take safety precautions such as masking and celebrating outdoors where possible.
Click here to listen to the complete interview from KPCC.