Although COVID-19 is entering its endemic stage, the risks of the condition haven’t disappeared. Healthcare professionals and researchers alike are closely monitoring new variants and how our tests and treatments respond to them. As the SARS-CoV-2 virus changes, should your behavior change, too?
Immunity from vaccination and past infection is much more common now than early in the pandemic, and hospitalizations are significantly lower. But people are still getting infected and many are still experiencing serious illness. While everyone is susceptible, some groups are at particularly high risk for COVID and its complications. Both adults and children need to be particularly careful if they have certain chronic conditions, like asthma or diabetes.
Here’s how COVID is evolving, and how expert recommendations are evolving along with it.
—Anju Goel, MD, MPH, physician, public health professional, and Verywell Health Medical Expert Board member
How the Virus Is Changing
COVID Cases Are Rising Again. Is It Still Dangerous to Get Infected?Do You Still Need to Isolate If You Have COVID?Losing Your Sense of Smell Is No Longer a Reliable Sign of COVID3 Signs It’s Time to Start Wearing a Mask AgainCan Rapid Tests Detect New COVID Variants Like BA.2.86?
COVID Cases Are Rising Again. Is It Still Dangerous to Get Infected?
Do You Still Need to Isolate If You Have COVID?
Losing Your Sense of Smell Is No Longer a Reliable Sign of COVID
3 Signs It’s Time to Start Wearing a Mask Again
Can Rapid Tests Detect New COVID Variants Like BA.2.86?
New Vaccines Are Here
New COVID-19 Vaccines Should Protect Against BA.2.86 and EG.5, Early Research ShowsIs There a Best Time of Day to Get Your COVID Shot?
New COVID-19 Vaccines Should Protect Against BA.2.86 and EG.5, Early Research Shows
Is There a Best Time of Day to Get Your COVID Shot?
Frequently Asked Questions
When COVID-19 was first identified, no one had immunity to it because no one had ever been exposed to it. That meant it could cause severe illness in just about anyone. Now, nearly everyone has some degree of immunity because they have been infected (often more than once), vaccinated, or both. Although the virus keeps changing, people continue to have partial immunity to new strains. That, paired with the availability of treatments, makes severe illness less likely today. But many people are still getting sick and many continue to be hospitalized, so taking measures to prevent infection still matters.
The vaccine formulations and recommendations have changed over time and some people might question the need for ongoingvaccination. Since the virus keeps changing, the vaccines also have to keep changing to stay active against the new strains. Even though you may have partial immunity from past vaccinesand infections, it is still important to get the updated vaccine. COVID vaccines are particularly effective in protecting against severe disease and hospitalizations. The CDC recommends thateveryone 6 months and older receive the updated vaccine this fall.
The vaccine formulations and recommendations have changed over time and some people might question the need for ongoing
vaccination. Since the virus keeps changing, the vaccines also have to keep changing to stay active against the new strains. Even though you may have partial immunity from past vaccines
and infections, it is still important to get the updated vaccine. COVID vaccines are particularly effective in protecting against severe disease and hospitalizations. The CDC recommends that
everyone 6 months and older receive the updated vaccine this fall.
If you recently had COVID-19, you still need to stay up to date with your vaccines. However, because reinfection is less likely in the weeks to months after infection, the CDC states that you
These Are the COVID Symptoms You Should Know This FallThere’s nothing that we’ve seen at this point that indicates that EG.5 causes substantially different or substantially more severe disease.—ADAM RATNER, MD
These Are the COVID Symptoms You Should Know This Fall
There’s nothing that we’ve seen at this point that indicates that EG.5 causes substantially different or substantially more severe disease.
—ADAM RATNER, MD
Advances in COVID Treatment
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