St. Louis is experiencing a COVID surge—here’s what you should know

As COVID numbers increase across the St. Louis metro area, local healthcare specialists emphasize renewed precautions. Dr. Hilary Babcock–BJC HealthCare vice president, Chief Quality Officer, and Washington University infectious disease physician–shares her insight. 

Let’s talk about this current wave of COVID—is it considered a surge?

I consider this a surge. We have had a summer surge with COVID every year since the pandemic began. We don’t really have specific metrics or criteria to say this is a surge or this is not a surge, but we’re definitely seeing increasing numbers of cases across the community. Anecdotally, we probably all can identify people who have gotten COVID in the last week or two. 

Do we know the current COVID rates?

There really aren’t reported, easily accessible rates in the way that there were during the early part of the pandemic. So we look at CDC numbers by state, and we look at some surveillance numbers to see increases. And then we hear what’s going on in the community anecdotally, and we use all of those things to adjust and decide what we think is going on, but there’s no one number that can be quoted anymore.

Are the symptoms and signs of the current strain the same that they’ve always been? Is there something new we should be looking out for?

They’re pretty similar. Most people are having classic respiratory viral symptoms. They’re having a cough and sneezing. Some people are having a sore throat, headaches, or body aches. But most people are not feeling too terrible, and we’re not seeing a lot of people ending up in the hospital with COVID at this time. But people are often feeling quite tired and kind of worn down from it. 

When should people test if they think they’ve been exposed?

Right now, with the increases we’re seeing in the community, if you think you have a summer cold or if you think your allergies are worse than they usually are at this time of year, or if you have a sore throat or any of the symptoms we just discussed, you should definitely test. You can test using kits that you can buy over the counter anywhere. You can go to an urgent care or an after-hours clinic—they can all do testing. Generally it’s not great to go to the emergency room just for testing if you’re otherwise feeling OK. But certainly you should head to an emergency room if you’re having trouble breathing or having severe symptoms. Otherwise, testing at home or through one of these other venues is probably the best way to go.

What should people use to alleviate their symptoms?

For most people, it’s really just symptomatic care: It’s resting, drinking lots of fluids, having your chicken noodle soup. You can take Tylenol or ibuprofen if you’re having a fever or body aches. For most people, that’s really all that you’ll need to do. If you’re in a group that is at high risk for complications—that could be someone with a lot of underlying health conditions or someone who is older—then you might call your doctor and talk about whether taking an antiviral medication would be helpful.

And what are the current quarantine recommendations?

The CDC’s current guidance around isolation for people who have COVID is that you should stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever has resolved and until your symptoms are better. And, really, both of those are important. So if you don’t have a fever anymore, but you’re still hacking and coughing and sneezing all over, please just stay home and don’t go out and infect everyone around you. But once you’re feeling better, then it’s OK to be out and about again. That said, if you are going to be around people who are at high risk for complications—if you’re going to visit an elderly relative, someone who’s pregnant, or who just had a baby—then it’s probably best to delay that visit until five to eight days after your symptoms started or to wear a mask.

Is now a good time to update vaccinations for people that are due for them?

There will be actually be a new, updated vaccine available this fall. So for most people, I would recommend waiting and getting the updated vaccine and just taking some general precautions to try to avoid getting sick now. For people at high risk of complications or for pregnant women, it is good to talk with your doctor about potentially getting vaccinated sooner. Pregnant women are at higher risk of complications and severe disease than people who are not pregnant, and if they get vaccinated while they’re pregnant, the antibodies that they form from the vaccine can go to the baby during pregnancy and after pregnancy if they’re breastfeeding. That can really help protect the baby, as babies can’t get vaccinated until they’re 6 months old. So the best way for that baby to be protected is for a mom to get vaccinated.

What should parents keep in mind for their children?

As soon as vaccines are available for themselves and for their children, depending on how old they are, they should get them. That will be the best way to keep people safe. And especially if you have a newborn, let visitors know that you expect them to be vaccinated and to not visit if they are sick. Also, be sure you’re careful in terms of going out and about in crowded, public places.

What do you wish people understood about COVID in 2024?

I think the thing I want people to remember is just that COVID is still a real thing. It’s still out there and it’s still making people sick. So it’s good to be thoughtful about where you go if you’re sick, how to avoid getting sick, and how to avoid getting other people sick. And if everyone who was sick stayed home and didn’t go out into the community until they were recovered, that would really help with decreasing numbers in the community.