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LOOK AT THAT AND THE FULL FORECAST COMING UP. A CDC ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAS JUST WRAPPED UP A TWO DAY MEETING WHERE IT HAS RECOMMENDED ADDING THE COVID 19 VACCINE TO THE CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULE. AS FOR HOW MANY NEW HAMPSHIRE CHILDREN HAVE HAD THE COVID VACCINE, THESE ARE THE LATEST NUMBERS FROM THE STATE’S VACCINE DASHBOARD KIDS AGES 5 TO 11, JUST 3% HAVE HAD ONE DOSE OF THE COVID VACCINE IN THE 12 TO 19 AGE RANGE. THAT NUMBER IS PERCENT BOOSTER SHOTS, EVEN LOWER. YOU CAN SEE IT’S 0.8%, FOUR OR 5 TO 11 YEAR OLDS AND 5.4% FOR THOSE 12 TO 19. NOW, LET’S BRING IN DR. JOSE MERCADO FROM DARTMOUTH HEALTH TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. WHEN IT COMES TO COVID AND THE UPTICK WE’VE BEEN SEEING LATELY HERE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. HI, DR.. GOOD TO TALK TO YOU. IF WE MAY, LET’S START FIRST WITH THAT NEW CDC RECOMMENDATION TO INCLUDE THE COVID VACCINE IN KIDS IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULE. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? SORRY, I MISSED PART OF THAT QUESTION. COULD YOU REPEAT IT? THAT’S OKAY. THE CDC OUT WITH THIS NEW RECOMMENDATION TO INCLUDE THE COVID VACCINE IN THE KIDS IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULE. BRAND NEW. SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT DECISION? YEAH, I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THAT, PARTICULARLY THE TIMING. YOU KNOW, WE’RE GOING INTO OUR RESPIRATORY SEASON, YOU KNOW, IN THE FALL AND WINTER AND IT WOULD BE PRUDENT TO GET YOUR BOOSTER TO PROTECT YOU FROM GETTING THE INFECTION. AND SO, DOCTOR, I WANT TO GET INTO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE’VE BEEN GETTING SENT IN FROM VIEWERS, JEROME, SAYING, I GOT A BOOSTER LAST DECEMBER. IS IT STILL A GOOD IDEA FOR ME TO GET THE OMICRON SPECIFIC BOOSTER? YES, THAT’S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK I WOULD REFER TO THE CDC AS FAR AS THE INTERVAL FROM YOUR LAST SHOT, BUT THE THINGS TO KIND OF THINK ABOUT AS WE GO INTO THE HOLIDAY SEASON ARE ARE YOU GOING TO GATHER WITH YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS? ARE YOU GOING TRAVEL? AND ALSO, REMEMBER, AS THE WEATHER CHANGES INTO COLDER WEATHER, MOST OF OUR ACTIVITIES ARE GOING TO BE INDOORS. SO THOSE ARE ALL RISK FACTORS THAT COULD PUT YOU AT RISK FROM GETTING THE INFECTION AND THOSE ARE REASONS AS TO WHY YOU SHOULD GET THE BOOSTER AND BIVALENT WANT TO BE SPECIFIC, DR. MERCADO, WHAT ABOUT THIS QUESTION IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET COVID AND THE FLU AT THE SAME TIME? WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN AS THAT RELATES TO PATIENTS? AND THEN FURTHER, WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO TO PROTECT ASIDE FROM GETTING VACCINATED? THAT’S ANOTHER GREAT QUESTION. AND UNFORTUNATELY, THE ANSWER IS YES. BUT FORTUNATE IT HAS NOT BEEN VERY COMMON. SO I THINK OUTSIDE OF VACCINES, WE KNOW WHAT WORKS. YOU KNOW, PART OF WHAT KEPT THE FLU NUMBERS DOWN IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS ARE THINGS LIKE WEARING OUR MASKS, AVOIDING OR MAKING SURE THAT GATHERINGS ARE SAFE. SO WHEN YOU ARE GATHERING, MAKING SURE THAT THERE’S GOOD VENTILATION, THERE’S GOOD DISTANCING, AND ALSO YOU CAN THINK ABOUT WHETHER YOU WANT TO TEST PRIOR TO GATHERING. BUT MAYBE MORE IMPORTANTLY, IF YOU ARE HAVING SYMPTOMS, DON’T PUT OTHERS AT RISK. SO STAY AT HOME AND DON’T SPREAD THE INFECTION. AND SO, DOCTOR, HERE WE ARE MID-OCTOBER. WE ARE STARTING TO SEE THE NUMBERS INCREASE IN OUR STATE WHEN IT COMES TO HOSPITALIZATIONS. IN FACT, UP MORE THAN 100% OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS. SO HOW OUR HOSPITALS ARE PREPARING FOR THE POSSIBLE INCREASE IN COVID CASES EVEN MORE AS WE HEAD DEEPER INTO THE COLDER MONTHS? YEAH, I THINK THE BIG CONCERN IS WE’RE WATCHING WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND OTHER COUNTRIES, EUROPE AND ASIA, BECAUSE AS WE’VE SEEN IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS WE WE TEND TO FOLLOW THAT TREND. SO I THINK AT FIRST AS WE CONTINUE TO MESSAGE AROUND PROTECTING OURSELVES AND GETTING BOOSTERS AND VACCINES, AS LONG AS YOU ARE ELIGIBLE, THE BIGGEST WORRY, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS COMING FALL AND WINTER IS WE CONTINUE TO SEE SOME VARIANTS FROM THE OMICRON LINEAGE WITH THE POTENTIAL OF IMMUNE ESCAPE. WHAT IT MEANS IS THAT THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT OUR TREATMENT OPTIONS MAY BE LIMITED AND THAT THERE IS AN INCREASED RISK OF REINFECTION FOR THOSE WHO JUST HAD COVID. SO I THINK IT’S VERY IMPORTANT. AND AS WE GO INTO THE FALL AND WINTER MONTHS TO REALLY THINK APPROPRIATELY ON TOP OF THE VACCINES OF WHEN WE SHOULD BE WEARING MASKS, AGAIN, NOT PUTTING OTHERS AT RISK, PARTICULARLY IF YOU ARE SICK. DR. JOSE MERCADO, THANK YOU. AND STAND BY. WE HAVE MO