Laurie writes:
Hi Vincent and Daniel,
I’ve been watching your Clinical Updates regularly and appreciate the education in virology.
I am an avid masker , using the KN-95’s, and I cringe when I hear things such as “the virus is so small that the mask provides no protection since it easily passes through the pores of the material.” It occurs to me that while the virus itself is indeed minuscule, when an infected person expels viral particles via a cough or a sneeze, the viral particles are likely contained in moisture droplets that would be large enough for a good quality mask to offer protection. Am I right?
thanks,
Laurie
Barbara writes:
Dear Dr. Griffin,
I am a regular listener, and want to thank you for all of your practical advice! Our family has not (to the best of our knowledge) had COVID-19 in our household, and we test quite regularly, at least one of us once per week for work, and all of us when we’re symptomatic. We’re all fully vaccinated and boosted, with my most recent shot in November.
I have had a temperature ranging from 101.5-102.5 for 8 days, with no other symptoms except for a bout of vomiting on day 2. I have taken 3 rapid antigen COVID-19 tests (nasal collection) approx. 48 hours apart, with negative results on all 3. My husband, with no symptoms and no fever, also tested. Our two small children have low-grade fevers and no other symptoms.
Several hours after yesterday’s negative test, I noticed that a second faint line appeared. This did not happen with my husband’s test. I repeated the test this morning, again was negative, remained negative at the 30-minute, 1-hour, 90-minute, and 2-hour marks – and at the 2.5-hour mark a second line appeared again.
What does this mean?
Barbara
Nancy writes:
Hello Dr. Griffin,
Will we be permitted to get another COVID vaccine dose this Spring?
Thank you, Nancy
Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Eric writes:
Dear Dr. Griffin,
In January, California changed its COVID-19 guidelines to focus on the mildness of symptoms in order to end isolation rather than the number of days since an infection was first recognized. This is reportedly a move toward normalizing COVID-19 as just one of any number of respiratory viruses, which I know is something Vincent has wondered about relative to the flu or common colds in past episodes of the podcast.
What is your opinion on this shift by California? As the person in charge of Covid mitigation for my company and an avid listener of your updates on TWIV, I’m not entirely convinced that symptom severity or fever is a great proxy for contagiousness.
https://covid19.ca.gov/isolation/
Thank you,
Eric
Denise writes:
Dear TWIV,
I am a pediatric anesthesiologist and have enjoyed listening to your program for the last several years. Many times during the pandemic, I felt like a lone wolf when touting the benefits of masking when speaking with family and friends. TWIV made me feel sane and reminded me I was not alone!
Anyway, my husband contracted COVID over Christmas and took a course of paxlovid. He had had Covid 2 or 3 times before but did not take paxlovid for any of those infections. He recently noted that his memory was sharper and he was finally out of the COVID brain fog that he believes he has been experiencing since his first infection in March 2020.
Are there any data on Paxlovid providing relief from long COVID?
Thank you,
Denise