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Mass General Brigham brings back employee mask requirement as local Covid numbers rise
By adamg on Wed, 12/27/2023 - 2:04pm
Covid-19 particles in sewage from southern half of MWRA system, showing a spike, if nowhere as large as at the end of 2021. Source.
The Boston Business Journal reports that with both Covid-19 and flu numbers spiking in the Boston area, Mass General Brigham will be requiring health-care workers to wear masks if they interact with patients starting Jan. 2.
Patients and visitors will be "strongly encouraged," but not required, to wear masks as well.
The amount of Covid-19 particles in Boston sewage - a marker for actual infections in ten days or so - on Dec. 21 increased 23% over the previous two weeks, according to monitoring by the Boston Public Health Commission.
The commission says numbers are "very high" in samples taken in Mattapan, Dorchester, Roxbury and Hyde Park and "high" in samples taken in Jamaica Plain, Back Bay, South Boston, Charlestown and East Boston - although the commission says the East Boston numbers represent a "large decrease" over the previous figures. Allston/Brighton and Roslindale/West Roxbury also showed a "large decrease," to numbers considered moderate.
Dec. 22 results for the flu and RSV show a spike in flu numbers - with Roslindale/West Roxbury showing the highest numbers - while RSV numbers dropped, although they are still higher than in October.
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Comments
PSA
According to CVS's website, all of their pharmacies have the Novavax vaccine and, unlike the mRNA vaccines, no appointment is needed to get the shot. You can just walk in and if the pharmacists has time they'll give you the injection.
I plan to get the Novavax shot in early January. Supposedly it has fewer side effects.
I got it in October and I
I got it in October and I usually have crazy side effects, but this time it was much easier.
I can vouch!
Got Novavax a couple months ago. Most of my previous mRNA shots from both Pfizer and Moderna made me "lose" the next day to feeling so crappy, including side effects like chills in the middle of the night and headaches. Novavax felt more like a flu shot - I was a little run down for a day and the injection site was sore, but I felt great otherwise. Biked to work the next morning.
At least it also has no side
At least it also has no side effects.
This was the first Covid shot I really felt
Have gotten only Moderna shots. Up until the most recent one, no problems, aside from a stiff arm. This time, though, felt like I was coming down with the flu for a couple days.
My wife, though, got both a Covid (not sure which one) and a flu shot at the same time, no side effects.
I got my Covid shot at the West Roxbury Walgreens, flu shot at the West Roxbury Star Market, where my wife got her shots. Both went well, unlike my failed attempts to just get an appointment at a CVS. Bonus: 10%-off grocery coupon for each shot at Star.
PSA 2
Considering how burnt out and understaffed CVS is, I would suggest not just walking in.
Not an option for Novavax
CVS isn't taking appointments for Novavax.
I think it's better this way. If there's a line, I'll leave and come back.
Ah, yes, the Westie CVS
I went there last Friday to pick up pills and I made the mistake of going there right before the pharmacy lunch break. The line was all the way back to cosmetics, so I ended up leaving. I went early Saturday morning and it took me less than 5 minutes to get the pills.
I wonder if, unlike the mRNA vaccines, you have to pay for them, and how much.
Storage
I think the simple storage and shelf life options for Novavax make it easier for CVS to keep in stock so appointments aren't as important. It's "free with insurance" but $200 if you aren't eligible for insurance or a government program.
If CVS was smart they'd publish real-time information about the wait time so people could plan accordingly.
Gah, nesting fail
My response was put in the correct place, but got duplicated. Those gnomes must have been on a coffee break.
I'll look into that
The last two boosters I had were Moderna, and both times I had aches and a slight temperature. In addition, my heart was racing a few days later, but that only lasted half a day, and I was better by the next day.
If Novavax has far less side effects, I'm all for it, as long as it's a valid COVID vaccine update.
HP Osco had an option I got a few months ago
I am not sure which company it was but very few if any side effects. I just had Covid a few weeks ago and it was very mild and only lasted 5-6 days , I was positive for 4 days. So I am very happy I got the shot!
I’ve seen novavax it go both ways…
I have a relative who was mostly bed-bound for 2+ days with the mRNA shots get novavax and it worked out great. More pain at the injection site, but two hours later was fine and just a little tired the next day.
At the same time, I have a friend who got novavax and had a fever and diarrhea for more than a week.
(Everyone else I know got boosted with Moderna or Pfizer, but those two were night and day)
COVID has been mutating so
COVID has been mutating so rapidly and frequently that it might not make sense to call it COVID-19 any longer. The dominant strain going around today isn't the same as the dominant strain from just a month ago.
Supposedly this new strain has more immune evading features compared to the last strain. There's no guarantee that vaccination or prior infection offers much protection to it.
Our whole household...
...got covid before Christmas (after evading it until now). Pretty much like a fairly average cold for everyone here.
A Covid Christmas
My parents, sister, niece, aunt and uncle all got Covid 2 weeks ago - my folks appear to have rebound so are still positive.
The older folks mostly had a moderate cold with extra runny nose - it’d that old world immunity, they were scheduled to get the newest booster the week they turned - what a world.
My wife and I...
... are up to date with shots -- but I assume this was the newest variant of coronavirus.
So we're back to the non
So we're back to the non-pharmaceutical interventions: masking, good ventilation, and staying home when you're sick, to avoid infecting other people.
And yet
the current dominant subvariants are all derived from Omicron, and the fall 2023 boosters that were developed with then-dominant Omicron subvariants have been considered relatively effective in terms of infection resistance and moderation of symptoms if infected.
I refuse
This violates my rights (that I think I have that I don't actually have). I'm suing.
manners
Since widespread masking requirements went away, I observe many people coughing and sneezing into the open air, with no attempt to cover their nose/mouth.
Not sure if they feel "free" now, simply forgot manners, or lost the muscle memory. But it is very, very annoying.
Off Topic: What do we call these hospitals now?
Since the merger do both hospitals retain their old names or is it Mass General Brigham for both locations?
Their old names, forever
I do believe the two physical hospitals retain their names.
Of course, even if they were to change the names on paper, I still hear an occasional Boston City Hospital more than 25 years after it became BMC.