Emergency Medicine

Dr. Ben Weston Discusses Current COVID-19 Trends

Dr. Ben Weston joins WTMJ to discuss COVID-19. He states that numbers are looking good with positivity, hospitalization, and death rates trending down. The Milwaukee mask mandate officially ended on March 1, 2022, but Dr. Weston says that people who are immunocompromised or not vaccinated will still benefit from wearing a mask. For the most protection, he recommends people continue to use KN95 or N95 masks. Health facilities are likely to keep their mask mandates in place to protect both patients and providers.

Will future booster shots be necessary? Dr. Weston thinks so. He states that vaccines do not last forever, and COVID-19 boosters will likely need to be administered yearly after the initial three dose vaccine. It makes sense to pair the booster with the annual flu shot.

Lastly, Dr. Weston discusses long haul COVID-19 symptoms. He states that a sizeable portion of people are experiencing long term symptoms, such as chronic fatigue or chronic shortness of breath. Some evidence shows that the vaccine can take those symptoms away and suggests talking to your doctor about what can ease any long haul COVID-19 symptoms.

Listen to the segment