SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Central Square resident Connie Tessier went to Brewerton Pharmacy Tuesday morning for this year’s COVID-19 booster. She isn’t shy about her reason why.
“Having been in the medical field for many years, when someone comes up with research for something to help me, I’m going to do it. And that’s why I’m still here today at 90 years old,” she said.
Cases of the flu, COVID-19 and RSV are all trending upwards in Onondaga County and New York state, according to New York state public health data and the CDC. Besides a sudden spike in RSV here in Syracuse, case numbers are normal, so far.
COVID cases are trending up, but a seven-day positive test rate of about five cases per 100,000 people has been the average since October.
The weekly number of diagnosed flu cases peaked at 34 at the beginning of November.
Both numbers will go up in the coming weeks.
But Onondaga County Health Department medical director Dr. James W. Alexander isn’t overly concerned. He said the measurement of a successful flu vaccine isn’t destroying the virus.
“We’re not going to have an influenza vaccine that’s going to prevent everybody from getting influenza. The goal of the vaccine is to prevent as many as you can from getting influenza. But most importantly it’s to reduce the severity of the disease if you do get influenza,” he said.
He said the number of flu and cold cases are back to pre-pandemic levels. The only time common illnesses weren’t an issue was during the height of the pandemic, when most people practiced social distancing and extensive hygiene.
One person wide community vaccination helps is Tessier’s son Mark Meyers. After living most of his life in normal health, the 62-year-old has spent the past several years battling life threatening diseases.
A 5-year-old diagnosis of Sarcoidosis, a disease of the immune system that causes it to overreact for foreign cells, might have been wrong the entire time. He was stricken by something else he’s still waiting for an official diagnosis on. He said it confined him to a wheelchair for months.
“It’s a fight,” he said.
In comparison, going to the pharmacy for a 10-minute appointment is a walk in the park.
“You just live life a lot different. When you almost pass away, then you’re going to live life differently. Those little things make a difference. People don’t realize that,” he said.
Pharmacist Lorie Chervinsky agreed. In addition to getting vaccinated, she said common sense hygiene can help a lot.
“You know, if you’re sick, make sure you’re wearing your mask. It just helps with prevention. And wash your hands, you know? It’s just a big thing that really affects the spread of the diseases,” she said.
Chervinsky said vaccine season runs from the time kids go back to school in September through February. She said Brewerton Pharmacy is ready to serve anyone who’s interested.
