LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — We're talking about COVID and chances are you know someone dealing with it right now.
It's a story I've been following for months.
But I'm learning we may now need to treat this virus like the flu.
I spent the day looking into why COVID is affecting so many locals and what we can all do to keep from getting sick.
“Tuesday I woke up with a sore throat and by 10 am, body aches," said Amy Clatterbuck. :And I'm not one to suffer from, like, your standard cold or, like, allergies."
She says this is the third time she's gotten COVID even though she's been vaccinated.
The first two times, she had a constant headache, couldn’t open her eyes, and had difficulty breathing. She tells me this time it’s different.
“After I started taking an antiviral called Paxlovid, I just basically had, like, hay fever symptoms," Clatterbuck said.
Amy's not alone. You or someone you know may be suffering from this COVID surge.
“This peak we are seeing in July is something we typically see in mid to late August,” Dr. Edwin Oh, who leads the wastewater surveillance program, told me.
I went to UNLV to meet with Dr. Oh.
Abel: “Dr. Oh, explain to me the difference we are seeing in this covid surge in comparison to others.”
Dr. Oh: “The viral levels in the wastewater are levels that we typically see in December or January of various years so there is a lot of virus in the water which means people are shedding this virus,” Oh said.
Abel: “Is that what we in Southern Nevada should worry about?”
Dr. Oh: “I think so, whenever we have high levels in our wastewater it is something we should pay attention to.”
I also talked with Dr. Anil Mangla with the Southern Nevada Health District.
Abel: “It seems like COVID is also, in a way, kind of like the flu in the sense that it's always mutating, and we're constantly having to get a new vaccination or a booster for it. Would you say that this is true?”
Dr. Mangla: “Yes. This is absolutely true.”
Mangla says the new vaccine boosts protection against evolving variants, much like the flu vaccine.
He tells me new vaccines will be here by early September.
Abel: “So now moving forward, is this almost a situation that we now need to think about COVID as the flu, and when we do go get one shot to get the other to just have that extra protection?"
Dr. Mangla: “Absolutely. I've always done that. Right? The day I go for my flu shot, I get my COVID shot.”
Clatterbuck says maybe it’s time we all adapt to this new reality.
“I think it's just the new normal, and it's just something we need to to get used to," she said.
Dr. Mangla tells me you should check with your doctor to see if you should get the vaccine now or wait for the updated version.
