Hello, health-conscious readers, friends, and patients! The Xpress Wellness Urgent Care team has created a 2023 guide for everything you need to know about COVID-19, the flu, and strep throat.
Seasonal illness is never fun, but sometimes the fall and winter seasons bring on a variety of sicknesses that can make it seem like they will never end, especially in Oklahoma and Kansas, where seasonal allergies lead right into the long cold and flu season. (Hello, dead grass!) In this guide, we will keep things brief and helpful as we navigate lots of information about the illnesses you, your children, coworkers, friends, or family may encounter this fall and winter.
If you’re already feeling sick, check in online now to see a provider at one of our Urgent Care locations across Oklahoma and Kansas or a virtual urgent care appointment.
COVID-19 – The Latest Scoop
What’s Up with COVID-19 in 2023? COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, is not new anymore, but you may have heard it mentioned more frequently in the last couple of months. Right now, all signs point to an upcoming resurgence of COVID-19 among already-circulating variants and in a new variant. Hospitalizations have risen recently, and updated booster vaccines are rolling out to protect individuals against the virus.
Two variants nicknamed “Eris” and “Fornax” make up the largest share of infections in the United States right now. The BA.2.86 Omicron subvariant, nicknamed “Pirola,” is the newest being tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). You may hear these names over the next few months, but they are all variants of COVID-19.