AUSTIN (Nexstar) Warnings from infectious disease experts about an anticipated spike in COVID-19 cases after the holidays might feel like dj vu from last year. Thats because it is.

However, significant strides have been made since Thanksgiving 2020. A game changing vaccine has been approved for everyone five and older in the United States. Eligibility for booster shots has been expanded to all adults 18 and older.

With those strides also came serious tribulations a deadlier, more contagious delta variant that pushed hospitals and ICU beds in Texas to their limits this summer, paired with the rampant spread of misinformation about the vaccines safety and efficacy.

About 54.5% of Texans are fully vaccinated, not too far behind the nations percentage of Americans who are fully vaccinated, about 59%.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise nationwide, and while Texas is doing better than many other states for now, the rolling seven-day average of new infections is slowly climbing again, according to state data.

Whether the case surges will continue on a seasonal basis is still uncertain.

Ithink its too early to tell what the endemic phases will look like, said Dr. Gerry Parker, director of pandemic and biosecurity policy at Texas A&M University. I dont think its going to be quite like the flu, I mean the flu is very seasonal.

It raises concern for infectious disease experts, including the states chief epidemiologist, Dr. Jennifer Shuford of Texas DSHS.

We could still have a lot of transmission of COVID-19 through the holiday season and into 2022, she said. So its something that were worried about because we think there are vulnerable Texans out there that really could get a bad infection over the next few months.

Parker said the one thing that is better this year versus last (aside from vaccines) is the increasing treatment options.

The monoclonal antibodies and the antiviral specifically are important tools because if you do test positive and youre high risk of contracting severe disease, the monoclonal antibodies can be very important if you have not been immunized, Parker said. The antivirals also are would be much easier to administer compared to the monoclonal antibody. So these are all important tools in our toolkit, but vaccines are the number one tool to prevent.

Doctors like Parker and Shuford emphasize that those treatment options are an additional tool, and should not be seen as a substitute for getting vaccinated.

The vaccines are fantastic vaccines and way exceeded our expectations in their effectiveness, Shuford said. Now there are two oral therapies that are under consideration by the FDA for emergency use authorization. And so its giving us a little more hope that maybe well have more therapeutics, or more medicines available to us for COVID-19 in the near future. Vaccines are still our best option though, for really controlling COVID-19 Across Texas.

The FDA is expected to approve Merck and Pfizers COVID-19 antiviral pill soon.

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Pandemic progress: How far have we come and where are we going? - KXAN.com