FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Would you believe it's been four years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Pharmacist Caul Corbell says the respiratory virus is more manageable in 2024 because of vaccines. But, he says he's concerned that vaccination rates have dropped off.
"I think it has been concerning that vaccination rates have dropped off, which could make us susceptible to different types of variants emerging in the coming years, so I think it's still pertinent for the population to keep up to date with the COVID vaccines. But overall, you can't say that today is not way better than it was four years ago," Corbell said.
Corbell says the pharmacy continues to see a smaller percentage of patients with long COVID.
"We have seen a few patients come in the treatment of long haul COVID," he said. "In my experience, it's still very much in the experimental stages. The most interesting treatments that I've seen involve using different types of anticoagulants, which are medications that thin the blood to treat, what I was told are micro clots that sometimes are left in patients who have certain types of COVID," Corbell said.
As of March 1, anyone 65 or older should receive one additional dose of any updated COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
"Patients over the age of 18, who are up to date on the most up-to-date vaccine is down to about 20%. That's down from 92% of people who received at least one dose and 79% of people who completed the first primary series so it's a steep drop off in it," Corbell said.
He described booster shots as "the same model as flu shots now, where it's released once a year in the fall, and it's tailor-made to whatever type of variant is circulating most commonly at that time,"
Live + Well Pharmacy in Fayetteville plans to restock the 2024 version of the COVID vaccine when it comes out in September.
"It's still important for all people to be cautious and to do everything they can to be preventative because an ounce of prevention is always worth more than a pound of cure," Corbell said.
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