KTBS3 - “It’s important not to trivialize this virus. We’re all back to living as we did before, and I think the best tool we have in our arsenal is to stay current on the vaccine doses,” said Dr. Jeremy Kamil, virologist at LSUHS.

NOLA.com - Jeremy Kamil, LSUHS virologist, said, "It's a little bit uncertain how serious of a contender this virus is outside of New York, where XBB.1.5 was first discovered.

Shreveport Times - The Center of Excellence for Emerging Viral Threats (CEEVT) and its wastewater monitoring laboratory at LSU Health Shreveport have been testing wastewater samples to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in local communities.

KTAL6 - Dr. Krista Queen with LSUHS says the COVID positivity rate in our area population is six percent. About two months ago, it was just below five percent. She says this is due to social dynamics returning to pre-pandemic norms and people not taking the same precautions.

KTBS3 - A medical triple threat—COVID-19, Influenza, and Respiratory syncytial virus, or RVS, has been ravaging U.S. health systems competing for attention.

NPR Red River Radio - "This virus is getting a lot of lottery tickets if you will. And it looks like, with these new variants, these new mutations are like the jackpot," says Jeremy Kamil, an immunologist at LSUHS. 

Mercury News - The (new) variants look a lot like the virus that was the template of our new bivalent booster, so vaccination still works. “It’s not a perfect match … but it’s close,” said Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at LSUHS, who studies variant mutations. “In most cases, that’s going to keep the infection in check.”

318 Forum - Dr. John Vanchiere, professor of medicine and pediatrics, director of community testing and vaccinations and principal investigator for the Pfizer Vaccine Trial in north Louisiana at LSUHS, shares, "The CDC recommends that people ages 12 years and older receive one dose of the updated COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccine if it has been at least two months since their last vaccine dose."

Washington Examiner - The Biden administration's fall campaign to get people vaccinated with the omicron booster has been off to a slow start. Dr. John Vanchiere, director for community outreach for Center for Emerging Viral Threats at LSUHS, anticipates that more people will get the updated booster as it gets closer to Thanksgiving in preparation for traveling and visiting family.

Bloomberg - Jeremy Kamil, virologist and professor of microbiology and immunology at LSUHS, shares, "Vaccinated and previously infected people have robust and still-intact lines of defense, such as memory T-cells and B-cells. People previously infected also have additional immune cells that reside in the respiratory tract."