GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — When COVID first broke out in Michigan in March 2020, doctors and health officials sounded the alarms to the public that it could be severe and may lead to death. Since then, several surges emerged which led to hospitals reaching max capacity, and doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers experiencing burnout.
This last May was the latest surge, Dr. Andrew Jameson told FOX 17 on Thursday.
However, it wasn’t as bad as the ones in the past, he said.
“We are so much better than we were before,” said Dr. Jameson, division chief of infectious disease with Trinity Health. “It’s the second iteration of Omicron. And, what that means is that we’re just seeing people that didn’t get infected with the first Omicron wave in January and February, now are kind of getting hit with this.”
Dr. Jameson said Michiganders are experiencing BA.2 and there was an uptick in cases in May. However, it didn’t lead to a large spike in hospitalizations.
“The hospitals weren’t overwhelmed, which is how we like to keep things,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. “We didn’t see an uptick in patients with COVID ending up in the ICU or on ventilators.
Dr. Jameson said he believes this is due to more antibodies being in the community, whether through vaccinations or COVID infections.
He said health officials estimated that almost 60 percent of the population in the U.S. was infected with COVID back in December, January, and February.
“Things seem to have plateaued,” Dr. Bagdasarian said. “We’re rewatching those numbers very carefully. And, we’re hoping that we’ll have a relatively quiet summer when it’s comes to COVID. Part of that is weather contributing [and] schools being out this summer.”
With the summer months coming, the doctors stressed the importance of not neglecting COVID protocols like masking.
“By and large when we talk about public health guidance for masking, we’ve got CDC guidance. They’re doing community risk levels,” Dr. Bagdasarian said. “So, it’s important to take a look at the community risk levels in your county and see where your county is in terms of risk.”
Currently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention map shows that most of West Michigan counties — Muskegon, Kent, Ottawa, Allegan, Van Buren, Berrien, and Cass — are green, which means there’s low risk of COVID transmission.
“I think what the public needs to do is mitigate the risk based on what’s happening in the community,” Dr. Jameson said. “I want to be really careful. I’m traveling in two weeks. I’m not going to be silly before I travel. I’m not going to go eat indoors. I’m not going to go have a party.”
So, he’s masking up when needed and recommended others do the same.
Dr. Bagdasarian suggested getting a booster shot or the vaccine.
“The recommendation is that everyone over the age of 5 gets one booster, and if you’re over the age of 50 or if you’re over the age 12 and are immune-suppressed, you get two boosters,” she said. “But, everyone’s health is different. Everyone has different needs. Everyone has different situations.”
So, consulting physicians would be best, they said.
Dr. Jameson added that if someone is thinking of getting the booster shot or the vaccine, it’s best to do it before school returns. Doctors are expecting an uptick in cases at that time.
“The issue is we still have people getting sick,” Dr. Jameson said. “You have to be a good neighbor and a good family member and a good son or a good daughter, and don’t put your loved ones who are at risk in a bad spot.”