Keith Collins, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family medicine, is an infectious disease specialist with the UVM Health Network’s Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital.

(DECEMBER 10, 2022) Keith Collins, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family medicine, an infectious disease specialist with the UVM Health Network’s Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, was interviewed by the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal about rising virus numbers locally.

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) saying that the number of flu cases are at a decade high for this time of year, infectious disease specialists are concerned that there may be a related surge of COVID because precautionary measures are much lower than they were this time last year.

Collins feels that the reported numbers of local COVID cases may actually be higher due to an increase in home testing that goes unreported. We could see another surge in COVID because people largely are not doing what they did the past two years in preventing the spread, he worries—there is less mask wearing and more social indoor gatherings. Also, he is concerned because two new COVID variants are not responding to the typically prescribed COVID medicines: Remdesivir and Paxlovid.

The CDC this week encouraged people to wear masks to help reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses this season as COVID, flu, and RSV circulate at the same time. Other everyday precautions that people can take to reduce their chances of catching or spreading a respiratory virus during the busy holiday season include washing hands, staying home when sick, increasing ventilation, and of course, keeping vaccinations and boosters up to date.