PanamaTimes

Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

It's not clear yet if Omicron is a milder variant. But its rapid spread is certain to overwhelm hospitals, experts say

It's not clear yet if Omicron is a milder variant. But its rapid spread is certain to overwhelm hospitals, experts say

The research is still early on the virulence of the Omicron coronavirus variant -- but what's abundantly clear, according to experts, is that it's poised to spread rapidly across the US and will likely overwhelm a battered US health care system.

The variant is expected to become the "dominant strain" in the coming weeks, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on Friday.

And after nearly two years of a pandemic that has caused more than 800,000 deaths in the US and overloaded hospitals, the omens aren't favorable for the next few months, experts say.

"Even if (Omicron) is less virulent than earlier strains, if we have a point where we're seeing a half-million cases a day or more, we are going to swamp our hospitals -- even with a relatively low rate of hospitalization," said CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington School of Medicine & Health Sciences. "When you have that kind of denominator, our hospitals will be completely underwater as they are in some parts of the country."

Dr. Peter Hotez, professor and dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN's Jim Acosta Saturday, "We are going to see a lot of health care workers get sick," pointing to the potential for breakthrough infections.

"Even though they're not going to be severely ill, they're going to be knocked out of the health care workforce," he said. "And that's going to present yet another big stressor on the system."

It's still too soon to assume Omicron will cause milder disease, according to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

"We still don't really know -- and there's some controversy about this -- whether Omicron causes the same kind of severity of disease or whether it's a somewhat milder form of the illness," Collins told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

Data from two weeks of South African cases appeared to indicate Omicron was milder in severity. The CDC said last week it looked at 43 cases and most of those people had mild symptoms. Most were vaccinated, with about a third of the total group boosted.

But UK epidemiologists said this week they found no evidence Omicron is causing milder disease there, although the Imperial College London team also said there was not much data to go on yet.

However, it's "clear that Omicron is an extremely contagious variant, that it doubles every two to four days," Collins said.

"The problem, of course, is if this is so infectious -- and we might see hundreds of thousands of cases every day, maybe even a million cases in a day from Omicron -- even if it's a little less severe, you are going to have a lot of people in the hospital and our hospitals are already really stretched with Delta, especially in the northern part of the country," Collins said.

"What we would like to see, though, is as many people as possible protecting themselves with vaccines and, especially, with boosters, in order to limit the consequences," he said.

Hospitals are already feeling the impact


Overall, the US on Friday was averaging 121,707 new Covid-19 cases each day, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Fourteen states saw an uptick of at least 10% in cases over the past week compared to the previous week, the data shows.

About 68,900 Americans are hospitalized with Covid-19, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services. More than 20% of all ICU beds in use are occupied with Covid-19 patients, the data shows.

California health officials said Friday they were seeing hospitalization numbers begin to trend upward, stressing the need for vaccinations and booster vaccines. In New York, officials said they're seeing the highest hospitalization rate they've recorded in months, with Gov. Kathy Hochul noting that the staff shortages will weigh into potential new restrictions.

On Thursday, New York state had the highest single-day count of new cases with 21,027, according to data released Friday.

In New Jersey, "we're seeing long lines outside of our testing clinic, more demand than we've seen in many months for testing, because folks are getting sick," Dr. Shereef Elnahal, president and CEO of University Hospital in Newark, told CNN's Amara Walker.

Hospitalizations have doubled over the last two weeks, he said, and although 46% of those hospitalized earlier this week had been vaccinated, they had not had a booster shot.

People not only need to get vaccinated, but they also need to get a booster, Elhahal said, "because what we're seeing is just not sustainable."

Dr. Marc Gorelick, who heads Children's Minnesota hospital, said the facility is already struggling to cope with the numbers.

"When you're on top of a surge where you're already at 90%, 95% capacity, those extra ... preventable Covid patients coming in are the thing that pushes the system to the brink. And that's what we're seeing here in Minnesota," Gorelick told CNN's Kate Bolduan on Friday.

It got so bad that hospital leaders in Minnesota took out a full-page newspaper ad this week to say they were overwhelmed by the pandemic.

"It feels like you are drinking from a fire hose with no way to control that flow," Dr. John Hick, an emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare in Minnesota, told reporters Tuesday. "I have been practicing for 25 years in the emergency department, and every shift I am working these days is like the worst shift in my career."

In Oregon, officials forecast a grim early 2022.

"We can expect a surge in Oregon hospitalizations by mid-January, with infections that begin sooner than that," said Dr. Peter Graven, a data scientist for Oregon Health and Science University. "Combined with its heightened transmissibility, we expect Omicron will generate a large increase in the number of Oregonians that will become severely ill and likely need a hospital."

Restrictions, cancellations are making a swift return


The US has fully vaccinated just over 61% of its total population, with about 29% having received a booster dose, according to the latest CDC data. According to CNN's analysis, at the current pace it will take more than two months for half of US adults to get a Covid-19 booster.

As cases climb and anxiety about Omicron grows, school officials and event organizers across the country -- but particularly in the Northeast -- have moved to reinstate restrictions or cancel events altogether.

Harvard University on Saturday became one of the latest schools to announce a shift to remote learning for some in response to "the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases locally and across the country, as well as the growing presence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant."

In a letter to the community, university officials said students must be authorized by their schools to return to campus for the first three weeks of January, while faculty and staff who can should work remotely. The aim, the letter said, was to "reduce density on campus by moving much of our learning and work remotely."

In Maryland, Prince George's County Public Schools will shift to remote learning beginning December 20 through January 18 due to "the stark rise in COVID-19 cases throughout (their) school system," according to a Friday statement from the school district's Chief Executive Officer Monica Goldson.

The University of Maryland canceled its winter commencement ceremonies, noting that all social gatherings on campus where mask wearing could not be strictly enforced should follow suit. Final exams will be conducted in person, but students and faculty will be required to wear a university-provided KN95-rated mask, it said.

In New York, the Radio City Music Hall's Rockettes canceled their "Christmas Spectacular" show. And "Saturday Night Live" announced in a tweet it was canceling its live studio audience for Saturday's taping of the show.

Michigan State University and New York's Hofstra University both said Friday that students and staff will be required to have booster shots for start of the spring semesters.

In Hawaii, a ceremony that was slated to celebrate the end of the state's National Guard's Joint Task Force on Covid-19 was canceled, and the governor's office said the task force is being reestablished due to Omicron.

Comments

MHogan 2 year ago
Hello, my name is OMICRON THE SCAPEGOAT. And I’ll be right here whenever you need a Covid Variant to blame for all your vaccine injuries.
Oh ya 2 year ago
Folks its the same as geting a cold. You do not need to rush to a hospital where you are more likely to catch some worse infection. Even the doctor in South Africa who discovered it said it spreads fast but with mild symptoms. The drug companies and goverments are the ones pushing the fear to get you to take more of the blood clotting shots. More pre 18 year old kids have now died from the death shot than since the beginning of covid19. Wake up this is not about covid as Bill Gates told you in a Ted talk its about reducing the world population. When someone tells you they want to kill you, you should not help them do it.
mike 2 year ago
Omicron vobiscum.

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Global Law Enforcement Dismantles Lockbit Ransomware Operation
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
The President of Argentina Javier Mile does not fly private, he flies commercial, with the citizens he represents. And they LOVE him for it.
Bitcoin Reaches $50,000 for First Time in Over Two Years
Belo Horizonte: Brazil's Rising Carnival Hotspot for 2024
In El Salvador, the 'Trump of Latin America' stuns the world with a speech slamming woke policing after winning a landslide election
Tucker’s interview with Putin is over 50M views on X within the first 5 hours.
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
President Nayib Bukele has proudly announced El Salvador's remarkable achievement of becoming the safest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
Former Chilean President Sebastian Piñera Dies in Helicopter Crash
This farmer seems to understand science a bit more than the event organizer, Klaus Schwab.
Facebook turns 20: From Mark Zuckerberg's dormitory to a $1trn company
The Coolest Dictator in the World" on the Path to Victory in El Salvador
Macron, France and fake news
Indian-Origin Man 'King' Arrested For Smuggling $16 Million Drugs Into US
Can someone teach Americans that not every person with slanted eyes is Chinese?
Europe's Farmers Feeding the People, Protesting Against Politicians Who Do Nothing for Their Country and Serve Only Themselves at Taxpayers' Expense
Paris Restaurant That Inspired 'Ratatouille' Loses $1.6 Million Worth Of Wine
Brazilian Police Investigate Bolsonaro's Son for Alleged Illegal Spying
Police in Brazil Raid Residence of Bolsonaro Associate Over Allegations of Illegal Spying
Border Dispute Escalates as Texas Governor Vows Increased Razor Wire
OpenAI Enhances ChatGPT-4 Model, Potentially Addressing AI "Laziness" Issue
The NSA finally acknowledges spying on Americans by acquiring sensitive data
Report Reveals Toxic Telegram Group Generating X-Rated AI-Generated Fake Images of Taylor Swift
US Border Patrol States 'No Plans' to Remove Razor Wire Installed in Texas
Bitcoin Experiences Approximately 20% Decline in Value
Klaus Schwab recently appointed himself as the Earth's "trustee of the future."
DeSantis Drops Out, Endorses Trump.
Nikki Haley said former President Trump is "just not at the same level" of mental fitness as he was while president in 2016.
Residents of a southern Mexican town set the government palace on fire in response to the police killing of a young man
Samsung Launches AI-Driven Galaxy S24, Ushering in New Smartphone Era
Judge Questions SEC's Regulatory Overreach in Coinbase Lawsuit
The Ecuador prosecutor who was investigating the television studio attack, has been assassinated.
Is artificial intelligence the solution to cyber security threats?
Vivek Ramaswamy suspends his US election campaign and endorses Trump.
Viral Satire: A Staged Satirical Clip Mistaken as Real Footage from the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos
The AI Revolution in the Workforce: CEOs at Davos Predict Major Job Cuts in 2024
Ecuador Reports 178 Hostages in Prison Gang Standoff
The Startling Cuban Espionage Case That Has Rattled the US Government
Two Armed Men in Ecuador, Dressed as Batman and The Joker Storm the Streets.
Armed Gang Raids Ecuadorian TV Station Following State of Emergency Declaration
Anti-Democratic Canada: Journalist Arrested for Questioning Canadian Finance Minister on Support of Terrorist Group
Ecuador's 'Most-Wanted' Criminal Vanishes from Prison
Mexican Cartel Supplied Wi-Fi to Locals Under Threat of Fatal Consequences for Non-Compliance
Border Surge Leads to Over 11,000 Migrants Waiting in Northern Mexico
Outsider Candidates Triumph in Latin American Elections
As Argentina Goes to the Polls, Will the Proposal to Replace the Peso with the Dollar Secure Votes?
Fatal Shark Attack Claims Life of Boston Woman Paddleboarding Near Bahamas Resort, According to Police
×