The Omicron variant of the virus that COVID-19 has taken over as the dominant strain in the United States. As with each previous variant, it changes the landscape of the pandemic. KTNA’s Phillip Manning spoke with Dr. Paul Forman, Chief Medical Officer of Sunshine Community Health Center, about Omicron and what new challenges it presents.
If one thing has been constant during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that everything changes, sometimes at a fairly rapid pace. The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus brings a different set of circumstances than the Delta variant and the original strain of the virus that started the pandemic nearly two years ago.
In August, I spoke with Dr. Paul Forman of Sunshine Community Health Center about attitudes toward vaccination. At that time, he said there were still some people with a degree of ambivalence about the vaccines. Now, Forman says that middle ground has largely disappeared.
“I think we’ve lost the people in the middle who just haven’t thought enough about it to get the shot as much as now we have the people who are for it and the people who are against it. And there’s a lot of misinformation out there—a lot of people who are choosing to believe sources that are not based in science.”
While a significant amount of attention goes to those who choose not to be vaccinated, Forman says there is another end to the spectrum when it comes to taking COVID-19 seriously.
“There are some people who are ‘over-believers,’ who are afraid that every breeze might bring COVID in. And I’d like those people to live a little more relaxed life. If you take appropriate measures, there are things that you can do outside of your box.”
Research into the effectiveness of various vaccines against infection by new COVID-19 variants is a constantly moving target. Forman says vaccine breakthrough cases have increased, but vaccination is very strongly correlated with better outcomes for those who do get COVID.
“Our case numbers are going up, but if you look at who is hospitalized and who is dying, it’s all the non-immunized people. So even if the immunizations aren’t as good at preventing cases as they were with previous strains of the virus, it is still very good at preventing the bad outcomes.”
One factor that infectious disease experts pay a lot of attention to is the r-nought value. If someone is infected with a disease, the r-nought is an estimate of how many other people that person is likely to infect. The Delta Variant of COVID has an r-nought of about six. Some estimates indicate that Omicron could be even higher, more in line with the transmissibility of chicken pox. Dr. Forman says vaccination against COVID-19 isn’t just about protecting oneself.
“COVID is very, very contagious….The question you have to ask yourself, if you’re sitting at home deciding not to get immunized because you think you’re to healthy to be harmed by it is, which six of your neighbors are you going to give it to, and which of your neighbors are going to survive?”
With an increase in breakthrough cases, a common question in recent months has been whether someone needs to wait to receive a COVID-19 booster shot if they have been infected. Forman says in many cases, the answer is no.
“Now, the recommendation is you don’t have to wait for [a booster], unless you have the monoclonal antibodies.…Now I’m saying that based on information that is maybe a month old. I haven’t looked at it, today, and that’s one of the things I’ve learned is when people ask me questions, I almost have to check what the CDC is saying about it, today.”
As of the most recent statewide data, just over sixty percent of Alaskans have completed their primary vaccine course, and twenty-three percent have received a booster. In the Mat-Su, forty-one percent are fully vaccinated, and fourteen percent have received a booster.
Forman says the guidance on boosters is constantly evolving. The latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can be found at CDC.gov.
