SAN ANTONIO — South Texas is heading into the thick of the winter respiratory season. And now another COVID variant is taking over along with other illnesses forcing many to call out of work with just days to go until the kick off of the Christmas travel period.
COVID-19 is just one of the many respiratory illnesses affecting South Texas right now. And there are still ways to protect yourself.
"HV.1 is still a descendant of the XBB variants that have been causing the COVID activity for quite some time now over the past year," said Dr. Jason Bowling, an infectious disease specialist with University Health, and Professor of Infectious Diseases with UT Health San Antonio.
Some of the symptoms with the HV.1 variant and the JN.1 - which is also gaining ground includes a sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, fatigue, headache, fever, chills, and muscle aches. RSV is another illness, besides COVID and the flu, that is going around.
"It impacts particularly older adults over 60 and younger children, especially babies less than 12 months of age," Bowling said.
According to the CDC in the two weeks ending December 9th, HV.1 was the cause of 30% of new infections in the U.S. It was first reported in the late summer. The second most common variant was JN.1 which made up 21% of the cases. And it isn't too late for you to get a vaccine.
"The flu vaccine, like the COVID vaccine, it's not a surefire guarantee that you're not going to get the flu, but it definitely, definitely protects you from hospitalization," Medical Director of Metro Health Dr. Junda Woo said.
If you're traveling for the holidays make sure you wear a well fitting, ideally, an N-95 mask.
"And if you're having a gathering, then improve the ventilation in your home wherever you're having the gathering," stressed Woo.
If you received the updated COVID-19 vaccine that came out in September it offers protection against the newer variants like HV.1 And if you're older, you should also highly consider the RSV vaccine.
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