Public health expert Dr. Ashish Jha: 'We can't be fearful of this virus'

Jan. 27—One of the world's preeminent COVID-19 scholars joined Lowell U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan on Facebook Live, where he allayed fears about the omicron variant sweeping through the country.

"This virus is going to be with us for a long time," said Dr. Ashish Jha, a physician, health policy researcher and the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. "We can't be locked down. We can't be shut down. We also can't be fearful of this virus — we now know how to manage it."

Jha added that, both nationally and in Massachusetts, "we have turned the corner in the last five, seven days," he said. Although the Bay State saw very high rates of infection, they're now down about 50% from their peak. Although he expects hospitalizations to soon decrease, "it's going to be a little bit longer before hospitals really feel any sense of relief."

Given these numbers, Jha said it's still prudent to wear a mask. However, he said it would also make sense to pull back on the mask restrictions when cases drop in a few weeks.

Jha later expanded on this idea, envisioning a future where mayors or governors recommend or require mask-wearing for a month at a time while infections or a new variant spread, then drop it again as cases subside. He noted on Twitter that doing so keeps people from becoming restriction-fatigued.

Jha offered a series of recommendations for combating COVID-19, including rapid testing before spending time with senior or other immunocompromised people.

On a broader scale, he recommended using a lull in infections to make bigger investments in public health.

"Let's make sure we have just an absolutely massive amount of testing widely available, so that the next time there's a surge that begins to happen, we flood the zone," he said. "Let's make sure that we build up our stockpile of therapeutics. We now have treatments that are gonna make an enormous difference in making this virus even less deadly."

He also advocated for expanding the wastewater surveillance system that began here in Massachusetts, eventually expanding to other pathogens beyond COVID-19, and to the entire U.S.

Overall, "we have to invest in the science," he said. "I mean, what's bailed us out of this pandemic is the science."

He advocated for increased investments in the NIH and other public health entities.

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