If you thought that COVID-19 was behind us almost three years after it shut down the world, you might be in for a rude awakening.
The global virus that has taken the lives of more than 3 million Americans has squeezed its way back onto the Florida health department charts as many cities are beginning to see a spike in positive cases since the new year began.
College campuses and work spaces are beginning to experience “covid scares” again, causing employees and students to rush to their nearest testing site for accurate results to avoid quarantine.
Tanya Tatum, the director of Student Health Services at Florida A&M, says she wouldn’t call it a spike, but FAMU is seeing an increase in COVID cases among students and employees.
“We recommend that students remember that COVID-19 continues to circulate and to take precautions to minimize the chances of becoming infected,” Tatum said. “They should monitor the CDC COVID-19 community levels — if it is medium or high, consider masking up when in large crowds or in close quarters with unknown individuals. Also, consider being vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccines have shown to be very safe and help reduce the risk of severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19,” Tatum said.
With less than three months left in the spring semester, students are left to choose between maintaining their studies in a post-COVID atmosphere or taking health precautions per CDC recommendations.
Monica James, a second-year, bio pre-med student at Florida A&M, believes that the virus never went away.
“I ended up catching COVID during the week of Christmas, so I went into the new year sick,” James said. “I think that it is very much still present and although I don’t think reverting back to masks and mandates is necessary, I do think that we shouldn’t look past what is going on and the number of positive cases that are rising.”
Pharmacies such as CVS have started reaching out to their patients where they call and ask if the patient would like to schedule an appointment for an updated booster shot for COVID-19. CVS pharmacist Allison Bryan recommends one updated booster dose that pharmacies and health officials are pushing to students and Tallahassee residents.
“I think that we as a community should be more aware of what is going on and the resources that are available to us,” Bryan said. “I had health risks since before the pandemic and I was at high risk when it began, I recommend staying up to date with the boosters, looking and watching out for local news, and taking your vitamin supplements every morning, especially supplements for your immunity system.”
If you or someone you know is interested in staying updated on COVID-19 data or would like to know which counties are experiencing spikes, you can find updates at: www.cdc.gov
The last update made to the CDC was on February 3.