Omicron variants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are sweeping through the United States and Europe right now. They are considered highly immune evasive, and we don’t know if antibody resistance from a prior COVID illness, or your vaccination/boosters, are going to be of any help in preventing infections. Given that many of my patients have a history of or are suffering from active autoimmune disorders, I would like to offer a couple of words of advice about how to protect yourself and your loved ones in the coming months.
Please wear your face masks while frequenting indoor public spaces, get tested for COVID often, and consider getting on the FLCCC (FLCCC.net) protocol to protect yourself from the new COVID variants in the coming holiday months. We have added some features to the FLCCC protocol to prevent and treat long COVID. You can find it here.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these two Omnicron variants (BQ.1 and BQ1.1), are now comprising more than 11% of COVID cases. First detected in Canada in mid-July, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are rated highest in the COVID variant line up in transmissibility, reinfection, and reduced vaccination effectiveness against infection by Canadian public health officials. Dr. Fauci and experts at the University of Washington are predicting a surge of infections that will peak in late December or early January. This would not be a great way to spend your holidays.
I hold retreats for healing trauma. They are small gatherings, but the participants and I do not wear masks. I require that all participants get a COVID test within 24 hours of traveling to my space and show me a negative result before arrival. This is something you can also do if you are hosting holiday guests. There are two kinds of tests that can be utilized: a rapid antigen (home) test and a PCR test. PCR testing if much more reliable. There are alarming rates of false negative readings for home tests, especially for Omnicron and its variants. Some countries have already implemented the research that is showing better reliability in testing that swabs the oral mucosa (saliva) and nasal passages. The United States has been slow to adopt some of the findings of other countries and this is yet another example. Look for rapid salivary antigen test kits as they are hitting the market soon.
Please be mindful, and regardless of your politics or personal beliefs about how COVID has been handled or reported about, wear your masks, get COVID tested and only go to gatherings if you have a negative test result, and get on a prevention protocol. We are happy to call these RX meds in if you follow the instructions here. We cannot call them in and have them arrive to you in a timely manner if you wait until you are already sick. Our prevention, early treatment, and long haul protocols are here.
Our Canadian neighbors published this instruction sheet earlier in the year that you can use to combine nasal and oral swabbing for at home testing for greater efficacy.
