Dr. Suzuki Running Blog #3: Runners guide for COVID-19 prevention
Dr. Suzuki is a Covid-designated physician & He can answer your COVID related questions. He will be bringing fun-colored masks to the totem pole and to the track nights to be given away.
Q. I heard Covid-19 numbers are up again in the hospital. Is that true?
Yes it’s true. In early July 2021, Covid patients in our hospital were down to a few patients. Now we are closer to 100. We are staring to cancel elective (non urgent) surgeries to save our beds and resources. Now, we also require the visitors and the hospital workers to show the proof of vaccination.
Q. I didn’t get around to get the COVID vaccine. Should I still get one? Is it really safe?
Yes. Covid vaccines are very safe and very effective. As of last week, about 197 million Americans have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, including about 167.7 million people who have been fully vaccinated by Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine or the two-dose series made by Pfizer and Moderna. About 71.6 percent of adults in the US have received at least one shot.
As for its safety, FDA is about to give Pfizer vaccine a full approval for its safety and efficacy, anytime between now and early September. The ingredients of vaccines are quite simple, mRNA (virus spike protein) and the absorbable container, which is made of lipids (PEGs, as in toothpaste), salts (as in table salt) and sugar (Sucrose). Note that you CANNOT get COVID from the vaccine itself, as it does not contain the actual virus.
The vaccine teaches our immune system what to watch out for, so that when your body recognize the virus, it attacks the virus right away, preventing infection in most cases, and preventing severe disease (and hospitalization and death) in over 99% of cases.
Q. But you can get infected even after full vaccination? Then what’s the point?
Yes, but that’s rare and It’s called breakthrough infections. First, the vaccines can prevent infection, but more importantly the vaccines prevent severe disease and death, and it’s really good at that.
Let me show you two recent real-life cases in July 2021:
1. Fourth of July event in Provincetown MA: this was a huge annual event with 60,000 people gathering and partying up. It was a rainy weekend, and it created many indoor gathering situations and a cluster of infections. The results were 965 COVID infections… but resulted in 7 hospitalization and no death.
2. San Francisco General and UCSF hospitals in July: we recently had a mini outbreak in the hospital in downtown SF… which resulted in 183 infection, two hospitalizations and no death.
The common thread here, was 3/4 of these people were vaccinated and well protected. The full vaccination renders COVID (fairly) harmless, bringing the rates down to 0.004% of hospitalization and 0.001% of death recorded by CDC. This is much less deadly than seasonal flu numbers.
Q. I already had a covid infection. I don’t need a vaccine right?
Yes you do. We have been checking the antibodies of previously infection people, and their antibody levels may be unreliable. The current guideline is to give a vaccine to previously infected people, which resulted in super high antibodies to protect you, even higher than two vaccines and no previous infection.
Q. Are we ever going to be done with COVID pandemic?
As the virus spread from person to person, it continues to replicate and mutates. Unfortunately, Covid virus isn’t going away completely and we expect it to be endemic; meaning we have to learn to live with it, just like flu or cold. I grew up in Tokyo Japan, where many people wear masks routinely during winter (flu/cold season) and spring (hey fever season). I can see it being the new habit here in Los Angeles to keep you safe from COVID, flu and cold.
Q. I’m fully vaccinated now. What’s going on with the booster shot?
As of now, if you are immune-compromised, such as transplant or cancer patients, you CAN get a third shot of vaccine. You do NOT need a doctor’s note, It’s an honor system; you just have to attest that you are at risk and benefit from that third shot. If you are healthy, you don’t need a booster shot yet.
Q. Is it safe for us to be running together?
YES. If you are fully vaccinated, it is considered safe to be running outdoor with others. I still recommend that you wear a mask indoors, like grocery stores or shopping malls.
If you are still unvaccinated, I highly recommend that you get that shot. It’s safe, effective, it saves your life, and it prevents your friends and family from catching the virus. Thank you!! —> www.vaccines.gov
Dr. Suzuki is a Boston marathon qualifier/finisher and an Ironman finisher. He is a foot and ankle surgeon, an attending staff of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He welcomes your running or health-related questions via email (
Kazu.Suzuki@cshs.org), which may be featured in our weekly emails and in our website.
(Disclaimer: This article is for your information only; it is NOT meant to be a substitute for a proper diagnosis and medical care by your own doctor.)
