Do at-home COVID tests pick up new variants? Dr. Mallika Marshall answers your COVID questions
BOSTON - Dr. Mallika Marshall is answering your coronavirus-related medical questions. If you have a question, email her or message her on Facebook or Twitter.
Dr. Mallika is offering her best advice, but as always, consult your personal doctor before making any decisions about your personal health.
John writes, "My son is over 30 and overweight. He has had the first two COVID shots and one booster. Should he get the second booster or the new booster?"
He should get the updated/bivalent booster, which provides immunity against Omicron subvariants as well as the original coronavirus. This new booster has replaced the prior boosters and is recommended for all people ages 5 and up who have completed their primary vaccine series and are at least two months past their last shot.
Williams writes, "I'll be 74 in November male with controlled Type 2 Diabetes. When should I get my Omicron COVID and flu vaccines?"
You should get them now and you can get them both on the same day. Don't delay. We're expecting a surge in both COVID cases as well as flu cases this winter. We've already started to see some flu activity here in New England and it takes 2-3 weeks to build immunity so schedule your appointment ASAP.
Cynthia in Rockport asks, "Do rapid home antigen tests pick up the new variants?"
Rapid home antigen tests are still quite accurate but they may give a false negative result if used too early in the infection, so if you think you may have COVID, continue to test for up to 5 days after exposure or the onset of symptoms. And if you need a more accurate result, get a PCR test at a local testing site or pharmacy. And if you get a positive result on either a rapid antigen test or a PCR, you can assume you have COVID. False positives are exceptionally rare.
Tanya said she's a petite, active, and healthy 62-year-old woman who is recovering from COVID and is experiencing a little lack of taste and smell.
Most people who lose or have distortions in their sense of taste and smell from COVID will eventually recover their senses within a month but for some, it lasts months of longer. Some doctors are using "smell training" in which patients are asked to sniff odors to relearn them, and scientists are also developing an olfactory implant that can detect odors and send signals to the brain.