Omicron is taking over as the dominant strand in the United States, which is good news. However, Omicron’s dominance might not be without consequences.
As thousands are becoming infected with Omicron, the good news is that it will take over Delta. The Omicron variant is thought to be less deadly than Delta. Nevertheless, long COVID-19 is real regardless of the variant, which could impact our human resources long-term.
Unlike South Africa and the United Kingdom, with low admission rates, now, the United States has the potential for increased hospital admissions. Higher natural immunity or vaccination protection levels helped prevent severe disease.
New Jersey and Ohio are some of the first states to experience an increase in hospitalizations from Omicron. However, many Omicron cases are incidental.
Relaxed Recommendations
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has relaxed its recommendation for isolation and quarantine and emphasized mask and vaccination. However, experts are concerned that the relaxed recommendations might expose more people, primarily the unvaccinated, who are the majority hospitalized.
Stay Calm & Keep Up
Stay calm and keep doing what we have been doing to get us to transition from COVID-19 pandemic to endemic. Wear a mask (surgical or N-95), ventilate, social distance, frequent hand washing, vaccinate and boost as recommended. Five fruit or veggies a day, hydrate (at least five 16 oz bottles a day if allowed by your primary care provider). Ask your health care provider about thirty minutes of daily walking on most days and at least seven hours of sleep nightly.
Ask your primary care provider about vitamin D and K2 supplements (5,000 IUs daily during the summer and 10,000 IUs during the winter with K2 100 mg).
Despite the potential for overwhelming our health system in the United States, we seem to feel some sense of relief as we head out of the pandemic towards the endemic.