4th Quarter in the Battle of the Viruses

 (Practice update)

Season's Greetings!  It's hard to believe the winter holidays are upon us.  Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year to any and all who are celebrating soon.  Our team is also looking forward to family time, rest and a break in our usual routine.  

For the upcoming Christmas holiday, we will be closing at 12 noon on Friday, December 23rd. We will re-open on Tuesday December 27th at 8 am.  For the New Year's Day holiday, we will be closing at 12 noon on Friday, December 30th. We will re-open on Tuesday, January 2nd at 8 am.  During this time, our after hours phone service will be available.  If you have a non-urgent message which can wait until the office re-opens, please choose that option. For more urgent issues, especially if you are unsure whether or not you need the emergency department, leave a message on the emergency line, and you will hear back from me. 

We have been going great guns with vaccinations this fall and winter, with a brand new omicron-specific COVID vaccine which is now recommended for just about everyone! If you haven't gotten yours, please be sure to call us to schedule this and BE VERY CAREFUL to not get COVID. Without the latest COVID vaccine, people are more vulnerable to getting COVID, to getting really sick, to having to go to the hospital or to dying of the disease. Even if you're in a lower risk age group, do you have time to be on quarantine for 5 days? Better to get this layer of protection along with the tried-and-true flu vaccine.  This influenza is the worst we've seen in over 10 years! Thankfully, this season's flu vaccine is well-matched to what is going around, so getting your flu vaccine can really keep you on track for all the upcoming celebration.  It's also great for adults to get the flu vaccine to protect children.  Both older adults and children are having to be hospitalized with influenza and are also getting sick with RSV.  RSV and influenza came earlier-than-expected this year, which could mean a much larger number of people catching these and getting sick after travels and family gatherings.

Besides vaccination, what is one to do?  Well, I would suggest masking up to go into stores, theaters, airplanes, airports and all other public spaces.  Washing your hands frequently is good protection as well.  If you don't feel well, it's really important to stay home. Consider a COVID test even for minor cold symptoms, as a positive test would make you want to stay home longer.  If you are older or have a lot of health problems, you should schedule a TeleVisit with us.  Even though our staff is away from the office over the holidays, we continue to offer 24x7 telephone access for both non-urgent and urgent issues. Non-urgent messages will be answered on the next business day. The patient portal is also an excellent space to communicate with us.

On behalf of the Team, happy holidays. May 2023 be a year of deep joy for you and yours.  As far as working toward your goals, my 2023 word for you is this:  STAY IN IT!