Mary writes:
Hello, I have been an avid listener to the clinical updates and other TWIV podcasts since I discovered them, sadly not until a couple months ago, but I’m catching up.
I’m 72 with an autoimmune condition but otherwise healthy, vaccinated 5 times with Pfizer (and one Moderna booster), most recently in May. I have not had covid, I’m sure because I continue to mask in all indoor public situations, don’t eat indoors in restaurants, and in some crowded outdoor situations. In other words, it’s unlikely that I encounter the coronavirus in my daily life, and I live alone. Most of my friends, neighbors and family no longer take any precautions, and now that at-home tests are no longer freely available and free, nobody tests before social events.
My question is this: If I socialize with someone who doesn’t have any symptoms of covid (including symptoms that they might attribute to allergies or a “common” cold, because without testing how do you know?), how safe am I if they have asymptomatic Covid if I mingle unmasked? I remember that during the initial phase of the pandemic asymptomatic spread was a major source of illness, but that was before vaccines were available.
I really don’t want to become infected, although I’m vaxxed and have Paxlovid available if I do, so relatively certain that I wouldn’t get seriously ill, but I also want to avoid post-covid syndrome. Plus it’s a bummer to be sick with anything, and if I do get infected before an event where deposits of cash or plans with others are involved there could be financial and relationship consequences.
Thanks for the podcast. I’m so glad there is information I can rely on and people who care.
Mary
Corvallis, Oregon
Matthew writes:
Thank you for your consistent message to treat early, treat appropriately, and follow the science.
Can you please review recommendations for use of anti-viral therapies in pregnant patients with COVID-19? I recently had a case where I recommended treatment, but the patient’s obstetrician told her to not take Paxlovid because “she would do just fine.”
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Matthew Davis, MD
Eli writes:
I just learned that CMV is the most common cause of non-genetic birth defects in the US. Some European countries screen pregnant women for CMV, some do not. The US does not screen. Should US pregnant women be informed of the risk? When European screening finds a positive, what then?
Eli
Ryan writes:
Dr. Griffin–I saw a study going around twitter a few weeks ago that showed paxlovid rebound was much more likely if people started right away, rather than waiting (I believe) three days after symptoms began.
Do you have any recommendations based upon the study?
Thanks,
Ryan