THE MID 80s. >>> THAT LOOKS GREAT TO ME. NOW TO CHICAGO'S SUMMER SURGE OF COVID 19 CASES. ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL WASTEWATER DATA, THE LEVELS OF COVID 19 ARE HIGH IN ILLINOIS. NATIONALLY, THE WASTEWATER LEVELS ARE VERY HIGH. THE GOOD NEWS IS, THE UPDATED COVID-19 VACCINE IS AVAILABLE AT WALGREENS . JOINING US NOW IS AN EPIDEMIOLOGIST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO OF ILLINOIS. GOOD MORNING, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS MORNING. >> LET'S ADDRESS THE SUMMER SURGE. IT FEELS LIKE EVERYONE KNOWS SOMEONE WITH COVID NOW. WHY ARE WE SEEING THIS? >> WE HAD ONE VARIANT THAT WAS DOMINANT THROUGH THE SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER. ALL OF A SUDDEN, WE STARTED TO SEE MUTATIONS THAT WE CALLED THE FLIP. THEY HAVE REALLY TAKEN OFF. A LOT OF US DID NOT HAVE IMMUNITY TO THOSE. WHEN WE SEE THAT KIND OF MUTATION , THAT IS WHAT CAUSES THESE SURGES. >> SOME PEOPLE GET CONFUSED OVER , VACCINES AND THE BOOSTERS, WHEN YOU SHOULD GET THEM. FIRST QUESTION, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY WE NEED TO GET YEARLY VACCINES FOR VIRUSES LIKE THE FLU AND COVID-19, AND NOT OTHERS , LIKE THE MEASLES ? >> THAT IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. IT IS VERY CONFUSING FOR PEOPLE, WHY WE NEED TO GET AN UPDATED FLU AND COVID VACCINE EVERY FALL . THERE CERTAIN VIRUSES THAT MUTATE VERY QUICKLY. THE FLU AND COVID ARE RNA VIRUSES THAT MUTATE VERY FAST. BECAUSE OF THAT, WE HAVE TO KEEP ON TOP OF THESE. THESE ARE MUTATIONS THAT DON'T HAPPEN WITH LIKE HPV , OR THE MEASLES. WE CAN GET THAT VACCINATION ONCE AND WE CAN KEEP THAT VACCINATION FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES. BECAUSE THEY MUTATE SO QUICKLY , WE HAVE TO KEEP ON TOP OF THEM AND KEEP GETTING THE VACCINE. IT'S IMPORTANT TO DO SO . AND >> SO FOR THOSE THAT HAVE RECENTLY CAUGHT COVID OR HAVE IT NOW , WHEN SHOULD THEY GET THE UPDATED VACCINE OR BOOSTER? HOW MANY MONTHS SHOULD PEOPLE WAIT FROM HAVING COVID TO GETTING THE LATEST BOOSTER? >> ANOTHER EXCELLENT QUESTION, THANK YOU FOR ASKING IT. THIS IS A QUESTION THAT I GET ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY FROM PEOPLE. BECAUSE WE ARE HAVING A SURGE, A LOT OF PEOPLE EITHER HAVE COVID NOW, OR THEY JUST RECENTLY GOT OVER A CASE OF IT. PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW, SHOULD I GET THE VACCINE NOW? THE CDC DOES SAY THAT YOU CAN WAIT UP TO THREE MONTHS IF YOU HAVE HAD THE VACCINE . THIS HAPPENED TO US LAST YEAR , IT IS JUST A PERSONAL STORY OF HOW I WENT THROUGH THIS DECISION-MAKING PROCESS , HE GOT HIS CASE OF COVID RIGHT AS SCHOOL WAS ABOUT TO START. I DID WAIT FOR HIM FOR THREE MONTHS TO GET THE VACCINE IN DECEMBER , BECAUSE I FIGURED THAT WOULD EXTEND HIS IMMUNITY WINDOW THROUGH THE WINTER. IF SOMEBODY IS HEALTHY AND YOUNG, I THINK THAT IS A GOOD STRATEGY. IF SOMEBODY IS IMMUNOCOMPROMISED OR HAS UNDERLYING CONDITIONS, I MAY NOT WAIT THREE MONTHS AND I WOULD MAKE THAT DECISION WITH MY HEALTHCARE PROVIDER. >> OF 70 HAD THE PREVIOUS COVID-19 VACCINE, BEFORE THIS UPDATED ONE , WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THEM DOING? THE SAME, RIGHT? IT'S ATTACKING A DIFFERENT STRAIN, I WOULD IMAGINE? >> THAT'S RIGHT. PEOPLE DURING THE SEARCH WENT OUT AND GOT A VACCINE, NOW THEY ARE WONDERING , I JUST GOT THE LAST VACCINE, SHOULD I GET THE NEW ONE? CORRECT, EVERYBODY SHOULD GET THE NEW ONE, BECAUSE IT IS TARGETED TOWARD THE CIRCULATING STRAINS RIGHT NOW . THE VACCINE FROM LAST YEAR IS NO LONGER CURRENT. IF YOU GOT THAT VACCINE, ANY TIME BEFORE JULY, YOU SHOULD LIKELY GET THIS ONE. >> THE REASONS FOR THE VACCINES, FOR THOSE THAT CHOOSE TO GET THEM, SO THAT IF THEY DO GET COVID, THEY WON'T GET AS SICK AS THEY WOULD IF THEY DID NOT HAVE IT. WITH THIS SURGE, HOW ARE HOSPITALIZATIONS LOOKING ACROSS THE COUNTRY? ARE THEY STILL DOWNLOAD? >> HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE MUCH LOWER THAN THEY WERE IN PREVIOUS YEARS . CERTAINLY LOWER THAN 2021 AND 2022. OVER TIME, AS THE POPULATION GETS MORE AND MORE VACCINATED, WE ARE SEEING LESS SEVERE ILLNESS. THAT IS GREAT NEWS. THE ILLNESS THAT WE ARE SEEING THE SEVERE ILLNESS, THAT IS IN PEOPLE THAT ARE OVER 65, AND PEOPLE WITH UNDERLYING CONDITIONS , AND PREDOMINATELY THOSE THAT HAVE NOT GOTTEN THE MOST UP-TO-DATE BOOSTER. FOR THOSE GROUPS, IT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ALL GROUPS. THE CDC RECOMMENDS A VACCINE FOR EVERYONE SIX MONTHS AND OLDER. ANOTHER BENEFIT OF THE VACCINE IS THAT RESEARCH IS NOW SHOWING THAT THE VACCINE IS PREVENTING LONG COVID AS WELL AS SEVERE DISEASE, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. >> THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH TO BE DONE ON LONG COVID AND WHY HAPPENS TO SOME AND NOT OTHERS. >>