Vaccines still recommended as COVID numbers drop

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Social distancing, mandatory masks and compulsive handwashing seem to have quietly become a thing of the past. But doctors say COVID vaccines are still a great idea.

“They protect people from the most severe outcomes, including hospitalization and death,” Dr. Kris Bryant, Associate Medical Director for Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness said. “It may be that ultimately will get to a spot with COVID-19 vaccine where there will be an updated vaccine each fall.”

Bryant doctors say COVID vaccines are still a great idea.People who are 65 and older should get an extra updated vaccine if it has been at least four months since their last shot.

The CDC now publishes a road map to being fully vaccinated. It breaks down recommendations based on age, how many shots you already have and from which manufacturer. But one thing that hasn’t changed, the rules are still different for the immunocompromised.

“Vaccine is a good way to protect people who are immunocompromised,” Bryant said. “And there are specific vaccine recommendations for people who have immunocompromising conditions.”

COVID may not be dominating the headlines like it used to, but it is still out there, still infecting people. Louisville Metro wastewater testing at the end of May revealed the virus is at its lowest level of the past year. There is also a chart that compares the COVID levels in blue, to the plummeting number of hospitalized COVID patients in orange.

“The great news is, I think our community and our hospital has seen a much-decreased level of COVID, which is great,” Dr. Kenneth Anderson, Baptist Health Louisville Chief Medical Officer said. “For the first time since March 18, 2020, we went two days without a COVID patient in our hospital.”