The country is currently experiencing what many health officials, like Northeast Georgia Medical Center's Medical Director for Infection Prevention Control Dr. Supriya Mannepalli, are calling the “triple-demic.” AccessWDUN spoke to Dr. Mannepalli on Jan. 11 to get more information about the latest case numbers in Hall County.
“When our transmission levels in Hall County were low, we were following the CDC guidance,” Dr. Mannepalli said. “We did relax the mask requirements. But again, following [the guidance] at that time, we knew that when the transmission levels go up, we will have to change the guidance and that's what we did as our transmission levels increased to protect our staff and also our patients.”
The hospital system reinstated its mask policy on Jan. 3 for all of its staff, volunteers and employees. Masks are not required for patients, but they are highly recommended.
“As long as we explain the reason – that's what I always believe – that as long as we're able to explain the ‘why’ we're doing it,” Dr. Mannepalli said. “And we're doing it to protect our staff, we're doing it to protect our patients. I think it's been very well received.”
In addition to rising COVID-19 cases, flu and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases are filling up hospital beds. Dr. Mannepalli said that positivity rates for each disease have slightly improved since December, but only time will tell how this will affect the community.
“We're monitoring our numbers here at Northeast Georgia Health System also very, very closely,” Dr. Mannepalli said. “And the COVID-19 positivity rates, the most recent one for this week that I have received from our labs, shows that we're still at 20% positivity for COVID-19, and for flu-A 4.2% positivity rates and RSV 1.3%. So in the last couple of weeks as we started looking back, the trend definitely is a slow decrease in the positivity rate. If we look at the week of 12-21 to 12-28, the COVID-19 positivity rate was 26%. Flu-A was 8.9% and RSV 1.8%. Again, it's too early to say what happens in January and February, but we're hoping this improving trend continues.”
It can be confusing to identify symptoms since many symptoms overlap between the three contagious diseases. COVID-19 is associated with a variety of symptoms, such as coughing, shortness of breath and gastrointestinal issues.
“Flu also can cause any of these,” Dr. Mannepalli said. “[With] RSV, cough is common, symptom onset is gradual. We do see children getting very sick with RSV, but in adults it can cause more of a runny nose, nasal congestion, some cough. Because a lot of these symptoms overlap, given where we are, the most important thing is if any of these symptoms develop, just go and get tested immediately.”
According to CDC data, 120 Georgia hospitals have reported that 79.44% percent of their ICU beds are in use as of Jan. 17, 2023. Out of the hospital beds used in 117 different Georgia hospitals, 8.65% are for COVID-19 cases.
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, Dr. Mannepalli recommends self-quarantining and if a test kit is available, taking an at-home COVID-19 test.
“If that test is negative, then again, reach out to our provider to see what they recommend in terms of testing whether you come over to their office,” Dr. Mannepalli said. “Wear a mask when you're around others when you go to the office to get tested.”
Northeast Georgia Health System utilizes a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which tests for COVID-19, Flu-A, Flu-B and RSV. PCR tests are considered to be more accurate than antigen tests, but PCR test results take longer to confirm.
Antigen tests can produce results in as little as 15 minutes, but they are not ideal to detect the early stages of the infection.
“If the antigen test is negative, then the recommendation is that we follow that up with a PCR test to really know what's going on,” Dr. Mannepalli said. “And the PCR test should be not just for COVID-19, but also for flu and RSV. In terms of false positives and negatives with the antigen test... With such a high positivity rate for COVID-19 still in the community, if they have typical symptoms of COVID-19 and they have a positive test, most likely they have COVID-19.”
Subvariants of the omicron strain, such as XBB1.5, BQ 1.1 and BA.5, are highly transmissible and are more adept at evading immunity gained through vaccines or previous infections.
“It's part of how the virus survives, right?” Dr. Mannepalli said. “So, again, having that knowledge of, ‘Okay, there's a new variant emerging, this is how the virus is going to spread and survive. So what can we do?’ Again, wear a mask when we are in crowded settings, especially indoors, or in large gatherings outdoors. Stay up to date with the vaccines, including getting the bivalent booster.”
Dr. Mannepalli said she keeps a close eye on U.S. vaccination rates, and according to her observations, very few people have gotten their COVID-19 booster shots.
“It has shown that staying up to date with the vaccine and getting the bivalent booster prevents severe disease in higher-risk patients,” Dr. Mannepalli said.
