By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

Fifty-one years ago, Marvin Gaye released his album titled, What’s Going On that included the hit single by the same name. The album was released on May 21, 1971 and was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as a thematic approach to social and political issues. The song was a response to violence and riots in the United States related to the war in Vietnam, as well as race relations. 

The album and single were released by Tamla records, a subsidiary of Motown Records. The album and single had significant success in the music industry with gold certification in 1994 and certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. Marvin Gaye continued to use his music for awareness around social issues.  He covered Dion’s song “Abraham, Martin & John” in 1969 that was released in the United Kingdom. The second single on the What’s Going On album titled “Mercy Mercy Me” was a social comment on the environment by Gaye.  

Marvin Gaye was really asking us to think about what is going on in the world.  This question is still relevant today with what is going on globally with the ramifications from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A 2021 article published in Nature talks about the influence that viral infections can have on our bodies and specifically our immune system. We have evidence with other disease states that a virus can hang out in tissues with little to no detection until some unexpected illness occurs. If we think about the virus that causes chicken pox, we know that it can hide in nerve cells within the body and it shows up years later as shingles.  We know the virus that causes HIV and AIDS can live in tissues while staying undetected in the blood.  

The Journal of the American Medical Association on May 18, 2022 highlighted a study that will be published on June 10, 2022 in the journal Med showing most patients shed SARS-CoV-2 virus in their stool a week after infection. The study found about 4% of patients still shed the SARS-CoV-2 virus in their stool nearly 7 months after the virus clears from the respiratory tract and lungs.  

COVID-19 patients can have significant gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms with the acute infection, but many suffer these symptoms as part of long COVID-19.  These symptoms may be related to the presence of the virus in the GI tract for a period of time after viral invasion. This persistence of the viral shedding in the GI tract occurs even though the individual is testing negative on COVID-19 rapid antigen tests and PCR testing.  

So, what else is going on?

Viral infections can cause the immune system to react differently when exposed to other diseases including other viruses. The unusual cases of hepatitis in children have been in the news for several weeks now and it is a good example of the strange nature of this pandemic.  

Recently, there has been news of monkeypox, as well as a wild type of polio in Africa.  What is going on?

Monkeypox is a virus related to smallpox and cowpox. It was first identified in monkeys in Africa in 1958, but was not seen in humans until 1970.  Monkeypox has typically been located in central and western Africa. Other cases around the world have been related to international travel.  There are now warnings of disease spread to the United States. 

Monkeypox causes fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash spreading from the face to the rest of the body.  This rash will go through several stages before scabbing and falling off.  

There is an FDA-approved vaccine for both smallpox and monkeypox called JYNNEOSTM. This is a preventative vaccine involving 2 doses four weeks apart.  It is not widely distributed because monkeypox has a low threat level in the United States. The best way to prevent monkeypox is to avoid contact with an infected individual including isolation and wearing personal protective equipment including masks. Good hand hygiene is important as well.  Sound familiar?

Polio had been considered eradicated in Africa since August 2020 and these new cases are causing concern. At this point, we know very little about the polio outbreak and whether the United States needs to start precautions related to this virus as well. Polio is a highly infective virus able to cause paralysis. Vaccines for polio have been available for decades in the United States allowing for eradication in our country.  

What is going on? Mercy, mercy me!

If you have questions related to COVID-19 or other diseases as well as the vaccines available, please reach out to your healthcare provider or the ONU HealthWise team. 

ONU HealthWise is offering COVID-19 including boosters Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Call the pharmacy for an appointment for other time slots. The ONU HealthWise pharmacy offers Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. Call the pharmacy to get more information.  

ONU HealthWise Pharmacy
419-772-3784
www.onuhealthwisepharmacy.com