Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kevin Most joins the Steve Cochran Show to discuss the latest COVID-19 variant, the possibility of combining your COVID booster with a flu shot, and how the pandemic impacted various health conditions.

Dr. Kevin Most Steve Cochran Show Notes:

New circulating strain of Covid 
New strain of Covid is being seen emerging across the world.
Strain is EG 5 or Eris 
WHO will continue to monitor it closely and look for any variants 
This is important To monitor as they look to see if it will become more virulent
Current symptoms are similar to the previous variants, fever, cough, sore throat fatigue , and some are again noting a change in taste and smell.
It does appear to have immune escape properties, meaning that individuals who have been fully vaccinated in the past may still end up with this infection.
Severity does not appear to be too bad
The current symptoms lead experts to believe that it may become the dominant strain in many countries.
China and the US are the countries with the highest numbers of cases, which many feel are under reported as monitoring has decreased and many patients are not seeking treatment

Covid Vaccine this fall.  XBB vaccine, while Eris is gaining
Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax are currently producing the fall booster which is directly targeted on the XBB variant which was an offshoot from the omicron Strain.
The current booster is based on another Omicron strains, BA 4 BA 5
Do I wait, or do I get booted now?  Tough question to answer- the current booster is for BA4 and BA 5, the fall booster will be for the XBB, all of that while Eris appears to be gaining 
Whichever vaccine you decide on, understand that the goal is to prevent severe infection, it will not fully prevent you from getting an infection, it will just lessen the symptoms and the duration.
Remember the current vaccine and the new booster are focusing on the foundation of Omicron strain, which is where each of these strains have come from, so there should be good protection.
Very similar to what we do with flu vaccine, we look at the predominant strain and months in advance develop that vaccine, knowing that there may be a mutation that impacts effectiveness 

Impact of Covid pandemic on other illnesses.
We saw the impact Covid had on the general public, now we are seeing the ripple effect.
The ripple effect started this past winter when we saw huge spikes in RSV, a common illness that has normal spikes in the winter, but this past winter we saw large spikes as we had a year of minor interactions with children.
The isolation protected the child but also limited the exposure to common viral illnesses which then came roaring back
We know that early on with Covid, the impact on general health screening was greatly impacted, especially in the cancer screening area
During the early stages of Covid we saw initial cancer diagnosis  rates dropping  dramatically from a baseline of over 70,000 new cases diagnosed each month in the US to a number that was in the mid 30,000 a month
Covid did not stop cancer, we just lost the efficiency of screening and also the access to physician offices were very restricted, we shut down routine health care and focused on the emergency at hand.
Even when we opened back up, patients were still afraid to go to the doctor’s office
Where do we stand now, we are not sure as the data is not available yet
What we are seeing is an increase in the initial diagnosis for individuals with Stage 4 cancer is up 7% from pre Covid norms.
This increase is seen across many cancer types
The impact is noted in many areas, the treatment needed may be more advanced, the life expectancy is very different from a Stage 1 Cancer and a Stage 4 cancer, with 5 year survival rates decreasing dramatically from Stage 1 to Stage 4
The cost of treatment is also impacted- example Stage 1 lung cancer costs $25,000 to treat where a Stage 4 lung cancer will be closer to $250,000
Unfortunately the impact is noted to be greater in different geographic  areas and with different races. Rural areas have noted bigger jumps in advanced cancers, the discrepancies are also wide in some ethnicity groups, with Hispanics having much higher rates of advanced cancer when compared to other groups.
The next Public Covid impact may be felt in a while as over 4 million individuals lost their Medicaid insurance when the emergency Covid order expired, these individuals now don’t have insurance for routine screening.

Long Covid – does it start when you get Covid
A recent Covid study, INSPIRE,  is showing that individuals may end up with Long Covid months after the actual infection.
As we have some time and history studying Long Covid patients we are finding that some patients see resolution of symptoms after 12 months, only to see them reappear months later.
This study is looking at individuals who had covid at the beginning f the study and continued to track them, for 3,6,9, 12 months
They found symptoms in most people dropped dramatically from the baseline to the 3 month mark, as was expected.
What was not expected was the re emergence of symptoms months later
They also found a small population who initially had minor symptoms but months later had significant symptoms felt to be related to Covid
They looked at many categories- fatigue, cognitive difficulties, cardiovascular, pulmonary, musculoskeletal, Gi, HEENT
They will continue to monitor these individuals and it just shows that we continue to learn about Covid as we advance away from the initial infection years ago.

Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kevin Most joins the Steve Cochran Show to discuss the latest COVID-19 variant, the possibility of combining your COVID booster with a flu shot, and how the pandemic impacted various health conditions.
Dr. Kevin Most Steve Cochran Show Notes:
New circulating strain of Covid 
<ol>
<li aria-level="1">New strain of Covid is being seen emerging across the world.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Strain is EG 5 or Eris </li>
<li aria-level="1">WHO will continue to monitor it closely and look for any variants </li>
<li aria-level="1">This is important To monitor as they look to see if it will become more virulent</li>
<li aria-level="1">Current symptoms are similar to the previous variants, fever, cough, sore throat fatigue , and some are again noting a change in taste and smell.</li>
<li aria-level="1">It does appear to have immune escape properties, meaning that individuals who have been fully vaccinated in the past may still end up with this infection.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Severity does not appear to be too bad</li>
<li aria-level="1">The current symptoms lead experts to believe that it may become the dominant strain in many countries.</li>
<li aria-level="1">China and the US are the countries with the highest numbers of cases, which many feel are under reported as monitoring has decreased and many patients are not seeking treatment</li>
</ol>
Covid Vaccine this fall.  XBB vaccine, while Eris is gaining
<ol>
<li aria-level="1">Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax are currently producing the fall booster which is directly targeted on the XBB variant which was an offshoot from the omicron Strain.</li>
<li aria-level="1">The current booster is based on another Omicron strains, BA 4 BA 5</li>
<li aria-level="1">Do I wait, or do I get booted now?  Tough question to answer- the current booster is for BA4 and BA 5, the fall booster will be for the XBB, all of that while Eris appears to be gaining </li>
<li aria-level="1">Whichever vaccine you decide on, understand that the goal is to prevent severe infection, it will not fully prevent you from getting an infection, it will just lessen the symptoms and the duration.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Remember the current vaccine and the new booster are focusing on the foundation of Omicron strain, which is where each of these strains have come from, so there should be good protection.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Very similar to what we do with flu vaccine, we look at the predominant strain and months in advance develop that vaccine, knowing that there may be a mutation that impacts effectiveness </li>
</ol>
Impact of Covid pandemic on other illnesses.
<ol>
<li aria-level="1">We saw the impact Covid had on the general public, now we are seeing the ripple effect.</li>
<li aria-level="1">The ripple effect started this past winter when we saw huge spikes in RSV, a common illness that has normal spikes in the winter, but this past winter we saw large spikes as we had a year of minor interactions with children.</li>
<li aria-level="1">The isolation protected the child but also limited the exposure to common viral illnesses which then came roaring back</li>
<li aria-level="1">We know that early on with Covid, the impact on general health screening was greatly impacted, especially in the cancer screening area</li>
<li aria-level="1">During the early stages of Covid we saw initial cancer diagnosis  rates dropping  dramatically from a baseline of over 70,000 new cases diagnosed each month in the US to a number that was in the mid 30,000 a month</li>
<li aria-level="1">Covid did not stop cancer, we just lost the efficiency of screening and also the access to physician offices were very restricted, we shut down routine health care and focused on the emergency at hand.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Even when we opened back up, patients were still afraid to go to the doctor’s office</li>
<li aria-level="1">Where do we stand now, we are not sure as the data is not available yet</li>
<li aria-level="1">What we are seeing is an increase in the initial diagnosis for individuals with Stage 4 cancer is up 7% from pre Covid norms.</li>
<li aria-level="1">This increase is seen across many cancer types</li>
<li aria-level="1">The impact is noted in many areas, the treatment needed may be more advanced, the life expectancy is very different from a Stage 1 Cancer and a Stage 4 cancer, with 5 year survival rates decreasing dramatically from Stage 1 to Stage 4</li>
<li aria-level="1">The cost of treatment is also impacted- example Stage 1 lung cancer costs $25,000 to treat where a Stage 4 lung cancer will be closer to $250,000</li>
<li aria-level="1">Unfortunately the impact is noted to be greater in different geographic  areas and with different races. Rural areas have noted bigger jumps in advanced cancers, the discrepancies are also wide in some ethnicity groups, with Hispanics having much higher rates of advanced cancer when compared to other groups.</li>
<li aria-level="1">The next Public Covid impact may be felt in a while as over 4 million individuals lost their Medicaid insurance when the emergency Covid order expired, these individuals now don’t have insurance for routine screening.</li>
</ol>
Long Covid – does it start when you get Covid
<ol>
<li aria-level="1">A recent Covid study, INSPIRE,  is showing that individuals may end up with Long Covid months after the actual infection.</li>
<li aria-level="1">As we have some time and history studying Long Covid patients we are finding that some patients see resolution of symptoms after 12 months, only to see them reappear months later.</li>
<li aria-level="1">This study is looking at individuals who had covid at the beginning f the study and continued to track them, for 3,6,9, 12 months</li>
<li aria-level="1">They found symptoms in most people dropped dramatically from the baseline to the 3 month mark, as was expected.</li>
<li aria-level="1">What was not expected was the re emergence of symptoms months later</li>
<li aria-level="1">They also found a small population who initially had minor symptoms but months later had significant symptoms felt to be related to Covid</li>
<li aria-level="1">They looked at many categories- fatigue, cognitive difficulties, cardiovascular, pulmonary, musculoskeletal, Gi, HEENT</li>
<li aria-level="1">They will continue to monitor these individuals and it just shows that we continue to learn about Covid as we advance away from the initial infection years ago.</li>
</ol>

Steve Cochran rings the morning bell and gets your day started right. Featuring the best guests, the best interviews, and the best conversation, Steve Cochran is talking about what’s happening in your world. Smart, informative and (occasionally) funny, The Steve Cochran Show cuts through all the noise and brings you real talk radio every weekday from 5:30-9am on 890 WLS.

Steve Cochran rings the morning bell and gets your day started right. Featuring the best guests, the best interviews, and the best conversation, Steve Cochran is talking about what’s happening in your world. Smart, informative and (occasionally) funny, The Steve Cochran Show cuts through all the noise and brings you real talk radio every weekday from 5:30-9am on 890 WLS.

Steve Cochran on The Big 89

Steve Cochran rings the morning bell and gets your day started right. Featuring the best guests, the best interviews, and the best conversation, Steve Cochran is talking about what&rsquo;s happening in your world. Smart, informative and (occasionally) funny, The Steve Cochran Show cuts through all the noise and brings you real talk radio every weekday from 5:30-9am on 890 WLS.