Experts say Omicron may pass quickly, posing a small threat to vaccinated people, reports Yahoo News.
Less intense omicron
As omicron is so incredibly contagious, medical experts say its peak isn’t likely to last long.
It’s already burned through South Africa since it was first identified the day before Thanksgiving and cases are falling there. In the week ending Dec. 26, the number of newly diagnosed had dropped nearly 36% from their peak a week earlier, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.
If the Northeast, which has been battered by COVID-19’s omicron variant over the past two weeks, follows the same pattern, it could see falling case rates as soon as mid-January, though since the U.S. is so large, it’s likely to take time to move across the country, experts say.
Although researchers believe omicron may be less dangerous than previous variants, because it’s so contagious, it may still land just as many or more people in the hospital, said Jeremy Luban, an infectious disease expert at the UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts.
That means a return to the days of trying to “flatten the curve” to keep hospitals from getting overwhelmed, said Luban and Jacob Lemieux, an infectious disease expert at Mass. General, who joined Gandhi and other Massachusetts researchers on a conference call with reporters Monday afternoon.
Added advantage for vaccinated people
The news is even better for people with the vaccine. Although two shots are not as protective against omicron as they were against previous variants, vaccination and boosting seems to make a big difference in people with a healthy immune system.
Those with three shots who get infected seem to suffer just a bad sore throat and some fatigue and muscle pain for a few days, Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency room physician in New York City, said Monday in a Twitter thread.
People who’ve had two shots get somewhat worse symptoms.
Those who’ve had just one shot, he said, fared worse, feeling horrible for a number of days: “Not great, but not life-threatening.”
Virtually all of those who have to be admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 are unvaccinated, said Spencer.
Weak immune system
The one exception are those whose immune systems are weak, perhaps because of medication or old age.
“The immunocompromised and people who are particularly frail – there we have to be careful,” said Dr. Rajesh Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. “That’s an important group that, despite vaccination, hasn’t been fully protected.”
The number of patients at Mass. General has more than doubled in the past two weeks, from about 40 to 45 with COVID-19 during the delta wave to now over 100 as omicron has taken over, Gandhi said. Phone calls to the hospital have skyrocketed, too, with more than 500 asking for information over Christmas weekend, he said, referring to it as “an unprecedented number.”
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe
Source: Yahoo News
