OMICRON Update

OMICRON Update

The US has now surpassed 50 million Coronavirus-19 cases and 800,000 deaths. Sad milestones. 

The Omicron variant of this virus continues to spread extremely fast. As of a few days ago, it was identified in over 77 countries and is now in well over half of US states. I think it is safe to say that it is likely everywhere at this point.

It is quickly becoming the dominant virus all over the world and even here. It accounts for 3% of new cases nationally and 13% of new cases in NY and NJ as compared with only 2% the week before. In England, where they are calling the latest wave a tidal wave,it’s doubling time is 2 days.

Although more and more breakthrough cases are showing up in vaccinated people as well as those previously infected, indicating that protection from the first round may be waning, getting a booster significantly improves protection, once again lowering the risk of death by 90%. The vast majority of serious cases and deaths remain in the unvaccinated.

Information from S. Africa suggests that the Pfizer vaccine efficacy at avoiding disease may be as low as 30% but that cases are much milder. Moderna is not available there so data on it is not available.

The degree of disease from Omicron still appears to be milder overall, but once again, it’s all about the numbers. The more people get sick, the more serious cases and deaths will occur. This virus still appears to be 2-4x as infectious as Delta, 20x as much as the original wild type SARS-Cov-2 virus.

Please continue to be careful and remember that we are still in a pandemic. We all desperately want to go back to doing everything we were doing as before the pandemic but that is simply not reality. Someone I know who was vaccinated recently went to a party with her son and mother at Bounce U, a bouncy place for kids. All 3 got Covid. In precovid times, those places were petri dishes. Not smart decision making!

Please remember that it’s not about you or how safe you think you are. It’s about protecting and looking out for everyone else around you. Don’t be selfish.

GET VACCINATED. Even though it’s efficacy against Omicron is less, it’s better than nothing and if you get it, your disease burden will be much less. Get your BOOSTER if it’s been 6 months since your last shot.

MASK UP. Again, not perfect but definitely helpful. The better the mask, the less likely you;ll get an infectious dose of the virus if you come into contact with it.

DISTANCE and VENTILATE. Omicron is still an airborne virus. More airflow = more dissipation.

WASH YOUR HANDS when necessary and use sanitizer when indicated.

GET HEALTHY. The more resilient your body and immune system are, the better you will weather the storm. Not just the storm of infection, but also the enormous stress we are experiencing.

Stay safe and be well.

AC

STAY HEALTHY! You may not find a doctor or nurse to care for you!

 

Imagine coming out of a sterile surgical procedure to learn that across the hall, there were emergency patients being treated for various ailments. Some may have an infection, some a kidney stone, some possibly may have Covid. This is not happening in a third world country. This is here in the US. This weekend, during a middle-of-the-night surgery I needed to perform, I was shocked to learn that as many as half of the operating room recovery beds are often filled with overflow emergency room patients. This is not a small rural hospital. It has 30 operating rooms. It has a recently renovated ER with over 75 beds! It has a few hundred in patient beds. And they are often all filled. And they are starting to be filled with Covid patients once again. 

 

Worldwide, there is a shortage of healthcare workers at all levels. Doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists not to mention EMS and pharmacy staff. This pre-existed the pandemic, but Covid has accelerated early retirement as well as burnout. This is partly why there has been an explosion of walk-in clinics at pharmacies and urgent care facilities. With the recent announcement by pharmacy giant CVS that they are planning to close over 900 stores in the US, the shortage will continue to worsen. In my area, 2 local hospitals will be closing in the new year, unable to keep up with patient volume, along with reduced reimbursement. Healthcare is just too expensive. Too many sick people. Too much pressure on the healthcare system to see more, document more with less. 

 

In the world, the US is #1 in 3 particularly important health metrics. Obesity, rates of chronic disease and healthcare costs. We are #1 in a variety of other not-so prestigious things like number of guns, school shootings and per capita incarceration. 75% of Americans are overweight or obese (over half of them), and we know this is the #1 risk factor for contracting and having a severe bout of Covid. 20% of kids are obese. 30% of Americans are diabetic or prediabetic with an estimated 50% more having underlying insulin resistance. 40% of Americans are on a statin essentially because of a poor diet. Only a tiny fraction of them have a true genetic form of elevated cholesterol. It is not a pretty picture.

 

The bottom line? Get your butt in shape so that you don’t need to go to the doctor or ER. Furthermore, get vaccinated and boosted against this virus and behave in a way which minimizes exposure like wearing a mask and avoiding crowds so you don’t get Covid.

 

Stay Safe and Be Well

AC