July 22, 2022
Dear Members of the Baylor College of Medicine Community,
The Q&A in this week’s video is a special “Doctor’s Edition.” Many of the questions come from my physician colleagues. You will see inquiries about shedding virus, long-term neurological problems from COVID, whether antigen testing should be used as a measure for when to end isolation and if COVID has impacted overall mortality in the United States.
Many people are trying to determine how long to isolate, based on the result of home tests. Some individuals, who are symptom free, are still testing positive after Day 10. The CDC recommends at least five days of isolation. Others are concerned about “rebound” issues. Get vaccinated, take Paxlovid if you test positive and do not worry about rebound issues.
Of course, there are the concerns about the possibility of a new variant showing up. Yes, it is possible we will see a new variant in the fall.
For those of you who want to keep up with monkeypox cases, check the CDC link for the United States and world numbers.
Stay safe. Be sure to continue to check community rates for your county on cdc.gov.
Have a great weekend.
Paul Klotman, M.D.
President & CEO
Executive Dean