WITHIN 48 HOURS OR 72 HOURS. IF THE TEST IS TAKEN ON SUNDAYS, YOU CAN CALL TO FIND
ALL THIS INFORMATION RIGHT NOW
ON KSAT DOT COM.
>> AND WE ARE TELLING YOU ABOUT
THESE NEW TESTING SITES BECAUSE
RIGHT NOW BEXAR COUNTY, 19
DASHBOARD THAT READS AT THE
LOCAL RISK OF TRANSMISSION IS
SEVERE. THE LATEST NUMBERS SHOW
MORE THAN 1000 PEOPLE IN OUR
LOCAL HOSPITAL BECAUSE OF
COVID. WE’RE SEEING A RISE IN
PEOPLE TESTING POSITIVE HERE IN
BEXAR COUNTY AND ACROSS THE
COUNTRY. SO WHAT IS THE LATEST
COVID FORECAST LOOK LIKE?
AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR
PARENTS OF LOCAL FAMILIES?
>> SO JOINING US ON TODAY’S
LEADING SA SEGMENT IS DOCTOR,
LET FRIENDS. THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR JOINING US AT LOTS OF
QUESTIONS THIS MORNING. THANKS
FOR HAVING
ME ON.
>> FIRST AND FOREMOST, WHAT IS
THE CURRENT COVID FORECAST LOOK
LIKE IN? DO YOU THINK THAT
WE’VE PEAKED RIGHT NOW HERE
IN BEXAR COUNTY?
WELL, AS WE’VE COME TO LEARN,
DECIDE, COVID SURGES, THEY TEND
TO BE COUPLED WITH HOLIDAYS
WERE NOT SURPRISED THAT WE’RE
SEEING ONE ONCE AGAIN AFTER
CHRISTMAS AND
NEW YEAR’S.
>> SO HE APPEARED TO BE PEAKING
OUT, ALTHOUGH WE MAY NOT QUITE
HAVE REACHED IT YET. SO WE’RE
STILL BRACING FOR THE WORST
OF IT.
>> SO, DOCTOR, LAWRENCE, WE’RE
HEARING THE EXPRESSION ENDEMIC
A LOT RECENTLY. SO FOR THOSE
WHO DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS
AND COULD WE BE REACHING THAT
POINT AFTER THE OMICRON
VARIANT?
>> YEAH, THAT’S AN IMPORTANT
QUESTION. AND THAT’S WHERE WE
HOPE TO GET TO WITH HIS
PANDEMIC IS EVOLVE INTO AN
ENDEMIC SITUATION. THAT’S WHERE
YOU HAVE A LOW LEVEL ACTIVITY
OF AN INFECTION IN A
PREDICTABLE WAY. PROBABLY
SIMILAR TO HOW WE VIEW THE FLU
THAT WE CAN PREDICT THAT EACH
YEAR WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A
SURGE. WE’RE GOING TO GET OUR
VACCINATIONS BEFOREHAND AND IT
DOESN’T DISRUPT OUR LIVES TO
THE DEGREE THAT WE’RE SEEING
WITH COVID RIGHT NOW.
>> SO THE SMALL GROUP OF
IMMUNOCOMPROMISED PATIENTS WHO
HAVE GOTTEN THEIR BOOSTER SHOTS
IN AUGUST, THEY’RE DUE FOR
THEIR 4TH SHOT COMING UP ARE
THESE BOOSTERS AND THE
OPPORTUNITY FOR FORESIGHT?
IS THAT GOING TO BE MORE
WIDESPREAD THAN JUST THOSE YOU
KNOW, COME FROM COMPROMISE AND
ARE WE GOING TO BE HAVING TO
GET THESE BOOSTER SHOTS EVERY
6 MONTHS OR SO?
>> IT’S A GREAT QUESTION, AS
YOU KNOW, FOR MANY IMMUNIZATION
PROGRAMS, BOOSTERS ARE REGULAR
PART AGAIN, WHETHER IT’S THE
FLU SHOT, WHICH WE GET
ANNUALLY, WHICH IS A TYPE OF
BOOSTER OR THE TETANUS SHOT.
YOU GET EVERY 10 YEARS. WE
SUSPECT THE SAME THING IS IN
STORE FOR THAT. THE COVID
VACCINATION, THE FREQUENCY OF
THESE BOOSTERS REALLY UNCLEAR
AT THIS TIME. IT DEPENDS HOW
THIS ALL ENDS UP UNFOLDING AS
WE HOPEFULLY SOON ENTER INTO AN
ENDEMIC STATE. BUT YEAH, I
COVID BOOSTERS ARE CERTAINLY IN
OUR FUTURE.
>> DOCTOR LEVIN, STUDIES HAVE
SHOWN THAT OMICRON EVEN THOUGH
EXTREMELY CONTAGIOUS IS NOT
A SEVERE SPECIALLY IN FULLY
VACCINATED AND BOOSTED
INDIVIDUALS. SO IF OTHER
VARIANTS FORM, COULD THEY BE
EVEN LESS SEVERE LIKE OMICRON
OR PACK MORE OF A PUNCH LIKE
DELTA?
>> WELL, UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE
NO WAY TO PREDICT, YOU KNOW
WHAT’S COMING DOWN THE PIKE
WITH WITH NEW VARIANTS. I KNOW
NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR THAT.
DOES IT? IT SAYS FEELING SURELY
ANXIOUS. ON THE OTHER HAND,
THOUGH, AGAIN, THE REAL
QUESTION IS, ARE WE EVER GOING
TO GET OVER THIS ROLLER
COASTER? YOU KNOW, OUR NEW
VARIANTS GOING TO COME TUMBLING
OUR WAY AND I EVER GOING TO GET
THROUGH I’M OPTIMISTIC ABOUT
IT. CLEARLY SO FAR EVERY
VARIANT HAS BEEN SUSCEPTIBLE TO
THE VACCINES. ALSO NOW WE HAVE
A REAL GAME CHANGER. A 1, 2
PUNCH AS YOU WILL. AND THAT’S
THE NEW ANTI VIRAL YS, WHICH IS
SORT OF LIKE AN ANTIBIOTIC FOR
THIS COVID A VIRUS. AND SO I
FEEL THAT WE ARE MOVING IN THE
IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. WE WILL
EVENTUALLY GET OFF OF THIS
ROLLER COASTER. IT’S JUST NOT
HAPPENING AS QUICK AS WE LIKE.
>> SO I KNOW PEOPLE HAVE SAID,
YOU KNOW, COVID WILL ALWAYS BE
AROUND KIND OF LIKE THE FLU OR
THE COMMON COLD, BUT PANDEMICS
DO AND EVENTUALLY.
>> THEY THEY DO AND EVENTUALLY
AND AGAIN, ONE MORE TIME, IT’S
NOT ENDING AS QUICK AS WE WOULD
LIKE IT TO BE THERE. SO MANY
FACTORS AT PLAY HERE. MOST OF
IT, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY, YOU
KNOW, AS BEHAVIORAL, YOU KNOW,
FOLKS GETTING THEIR VACCINES
AT THE BEGINNING OF A SURGE OF
FOLKS WEARING THEIR MASKS AND
SOCIALLY DISTANCING. WE IN THE
HEALTH CARE PROFESSION NEED TO
COMMUNICATE IT IN BETTER WAYS
THAT IT’S BETTER ADOPTED SO
PEOPLE CAN GET INTO THAT RHYTHM
AND MOVE BEYOND THIS. AND WE’RE
WORKING ON THAT AGAIN. WE’RE
SLOWLY SLOWLY GETTING THERE.
>> ONE LAST QUESTION FOR YOU,
DOCTOR LEVIN’S. WE KNOW A LOT
OF FAMILIES, A LOT OF PARENTS
WATCHING. SO WHAT IS THE RISK
OF TRANSMISSION LOOK LIKE WITH
SCHOOLS AND SMALL CHILDREN
RIGHT NOW?
>> I CAN UNDERSTAND THE
APPREHENSION FOR PARENTS TO
SENDING THEIR CHILDREN TO
SCHOOL IN PERSON WITH THIS SIDE
DURING THIS CURRENT SURGE
BECAUSE TRANSMISSION DOES OCCUR
IN THE SCHOOLS. BUT ONE THING
WE HAVE LEARNED IS THAT THE
TRANSMISSION RATES ARE NOT HIGH
IN SCHOOLS. AND ONCE AGAIN, IF
YOU THINK ABOUT EVERY SEARCH
THUS FAR HAS BEEN COUPLED WITH
THE HOLIDAY, YOU KNOW, REALLY
WANT TO SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN
CLOSED TO. MOST OF THE
TRANSMISSION IS OCCURRING IN
FAMILY CIRCLES IN SOCIAL
CIRCLES. SO I DO BELIEVE IT’S
SAFE TO HAVE THE SCHOOLS REMAIN
OPEN IS ALSO GOOD DATA. NOW
THAT CLOSING THE SCHOOLS AND
HAVING ONLY VIRTUAL LEARNING
HAS REAL CONSEQUENCES ON
CHILDREN. AND SO I DO BELIEVE
IT’S IT’S BEST TO KEEP THE
SCHOOLS OPEN FOR ALL OF THOSE
REASONS. ALL I CAN ENTIRELY
UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE
APPREHENSION ABOUT IT. THERE
STILL IS A LOW LEVEL OF
TRANSMISSION WHICH DOES OCCUR.
DOCTOR LEVIN’S, WE ALWAYS
APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. JOINING
US ON SUNDAY. A LOT OF PEOPLE
OUT THERE HAVE THESE QUESTIONS.
SO
>> FOR OUR VIEWERS, IF YOU WANT
TO WATCH, DOCTOR LEVIN SAYS
FULL INTERVIEW, JUST HEAD TO