Nurse practitioner: COVID-19 cases are up, but fear of the virus has dropped

"I think the biggest difference this time round is the response from the community. There is less of a fear from the people coming in. That fear we saw in 2020 and 2021 – it's really not there," says Christine Seidell, an APRN with Docs Urgent Care.

Rose Shannon and Gillian Neff

Sep 17, 2023, 4:54 PM

Updated 313 days ago

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As COVID-19 cases continue to climb, a nurse practitioner tells News 12 that people have changed their views on the disease and become less fearful.
"I think the biggest difference this time round is the response from the community. There is less of a fear from the people coming in. That fear we saw in 2020 and 2021 – it's really not there," says Christine Seidell, an APRN with Docs Urgent Care.
Siedell says examples of this are schools no longer having quarantine rules and categorizing the virus the same as the flu.
Docs Urgent Care and other walk-in centers around the tri-state area are seeing an influx of patients testing positive.
"We're seeing now a lot of sore throats, people coming in complaining of headaches, body aches, chills, some with fever," says Seidell.
Seidell suspects the numbers will continue to increase. While most cases are mild and last close to five days, Seidell tells News 12 the virus continues to impact people underlying lung and heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
The elderly and babies remain at risk, along with those with weakened immune systems.


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