LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With so much changing on a weekly basis during the coronavirus pandemic, we continue to take new questions to the local experts in infectious disease.
This week, we sat down with Dr. Paul Shulz from Norton Healthcare to take on some new and complex topics.
Q: Does antibody immunity you might have from getting COVID-19 protect you from the new strains?
A: “We just need more time. Time is inherent because you have to have enough people that have had infection and have antibodies then get re-infected. Then, you need to sequence the organism from the new infection to know if it’s a new variant from the novel virus DNA, so we need more time…I know it’s being investigated around the world.”
Q: There seem to be so many vaccines in the pipeline. What do you say to people who are holding out for a particular vaccine based on its efficacy rate?
A: “Maggie on our team made a comment and I want to give her credit, the best vaccine is the vaccine you get a chance to get…and I've said this for years. The ideal time is the time that the patient is there, you have a vaccine and the opportunity to get the vaccine...so if I were out there thinking about this, I would take the opportunity that came.”
Q: The CDC just suggested some people would benefit from wearing two masks, but not medical professionals, where does the discrepancy come from?
A: “The devil’s in the details right? You have to know the masking and context. In a healthcare setting, for instance, we’re using an N95 we know it’s the right product made by a good manufacturer. When you start getting away from that in the community and you made your own mask right, who knows?”
Have more questions about COVID-19 or the vaccine? Send us a text at 502-582-7290.
Contact reporter Daniel Sechtin at dsechtin@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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