The highly transmissible Omicron COVID variant from South Africa is a growing concern among health officials. Ochsner Health Medical Director of Infection Control and Prevention, Dr. Katherine Baumgarten said fortunately the vaccines can be tweaked easily if needed.
“We do have vaccine manufacturers that can get vaccines ready pretty quickly if there is a variation in the vaccine that needs to be made for this variant,” said Baumgarten.
Ochsner Director of Hospital Quality Dr. Sandra Kemmerly said preliminary data from Israel shows the Pfizer vaccine retains adequate efficacy against the Omicron variant. She said when news of the new variant broke over the holidays it was a reminder that the pandemic is far from over.
“And it’s causing a lot of angst and I understand that, but it’s not time for people to panic, what we want is the public to be prepared,” said Kemmerly.
By prepared, Kemmerly touts vaccines and booster shots for those 18 and older who were fully vaccinated more than six months ago. And because it takes 14 days to receive the full benefit of the vaccines, health providers encourage you to get boosted sooner than later and before the Omicron variant reaches Louisiana.
Kemmerly said while studies of Omicron are ongoing there has been an alarming increase in hospitalizations in South Africa, but the nation also has a vaccination rate of only 30%.
“That makes 70% vulnerable. So, we need to understand that better, similar to what we had with Delta when we only had about 30% of the Louisiana population vaccinated. We saw Delta surge in the unvaccinated,” said Kemmerly.
To date the Omicron variant has not been detected in the US, however, cases have been reported in Canada.
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