Keeping safe as covid cases are on the uptick

The rise and fall and rise again, of covid cases and more variants developing. Lately, there’s been an uptick in cases in not only Minnesota but in Wisconsin as well. As more mask requirements go away, health officials weigh in on if they still recommend wearing them.
"I would recommend it, I mean there is another omicron variant that’s going around, and it’s very catchy, and even vaccinated people can, as we know, get this variant, says Dr. Kendall. Even though we don’t tend to get as sick with this variant, you can still get it."
Dr. Charles Kendall is the Incident Commander of the Covid Task Force at Community Memorial Hospital.

If you catch covid-19, the symptoms can vary from person to person. "If you are vaccinated, you can still get the latest version of covid, but you tend to have milder symptoms. If you are vaccinated or not, this variant is not as server as far as the amount of illness it causes. So both of those reasons could be why people don’t feel as sick as they do when they get covid,” said Dr. Kendall.

People over a certainly are advised to get a booster shot. "I recommend my higher risk patients certainly get the booster because they need more protection. Then say other people, who may be over 50 but don’t have a lot of health problems," Dr. Kendall shared.

As other related illnesses are on the rise, the thought of maybe tightening back up on masking and covid behaviors could come back full force. Dr. Kendall explained that with people not being so careful when it comes to these viruses, they have a chance of possibly infecting people at a high level. “So, I’ve taken care of a number of patients with cold and flu and stomach issues as well as covid, and no one is being as careful as anymore. So they may want to if they really don’t want to get covid.”