One question UTMB’s Dr. Samuel Mathis often hears is about the use and importance of protein powder supplementation with a workout. “When it comes to the amount of protein we get in our diet, supplementation isn’t usually required,” Mathis writes. “In general, protein powders are safe to use, but it’s cheaper, safer and more efficient to use natural sources of protein to supplement your diet and exercise routine.”

What’s the secret to becoming a centenarian? Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel write in their recent Medical Discovery News column about many factors including a new report from Japan that centenarians have unique gut microbiomes that reduce their risk for chronic diseases and infections.

Injuries are the leading cause of death in school-aged children, Dr. Sally Robinson writes in her recent column. Having a plan in case of a power outage or fire is essential. “Fire alarms are loud, but it’s helpful for all to recognize the sound and know what to do,” she writes. “Practice what you and your child would do if you had a fire.”

Scientists don’t yet know why omicron spreads so fast, but they have ideas. The first, explained Vineet Menachery, a microbiologist and immunologist who studies coronaviruses at the University of Texas Medical Branch, is that some of the mutations in the spike protein allow the virus to escape existing immunity from vaccination or an infection. “It’s different enough that your antibodies don’t recognize it,” he said. That means the virus has a larger pool of people vulnerable to infection. How well do vaccines protect against omicron? “The data argues that if you’re vaccinated twice and boosted, that’s the highest level of protection that you can get,” Menachery said.

A COVID-19 vaccine that targets the omicron variant will be ready in March 2022. While it could be an important line of defense, some experts are unsure if the timing of distribution would match public needs. “Is this too late? When it’s established with the modified omicron vaccine, will the omicron [surge] be already over, peaked out? We don't know,” said Dr. Pei-Yong Shi, distinguished chair in innovations in molecular biology at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Although omicron case rates are falling in some regions, a variant-specific vaccine wouldn’t be out of the question. Pfizer is manufacturing the new vaccine at risk since it has yet to be approved or authorized by health authorities, but the process is necessary, Shi said. “For pandemic preparedness, these exercises are definitely needed,” he said.

In the new year, the demand for vaccinations has ground to a near halt, said Dr. Philip Keiser, Galveston County’s local health authority. “We pretty much hit a wall a couple of weeks ago,” Keiser said Thursday. As of Wednesday, 198,475 people, about 58 percent of the county’s population, had received at least two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Of those, 75,951 had received booster doses.

Dr. Philip Keiser, chair of the UTMB COVID-19 Vaccination Task Force and Galveston County Health Authority, and Dr. Janak Patel, director of UTMB Infection Control and Healthcare Epidemiology, appeared on the Jan. 19 edition of Health Care Unmasked. Drs. Patel and Keiser addressed the latest information on the omicron variant during the hour-long Facebook Live interview.