Toomey also cautioned against underestimating the new variant and putting too much stock into early data suggesting omicron causes more mild illness. The omicron variant is new and severe disease that takes time to develop, so scientists say it could be a couple of months before more is learned about its severity. The study found that the people infected with omicron so far have had a 29% lower chance of being hospitalized than those infected with the virus that was circulating in South Africa in March 2020.īut experts caution that what happens in South Africa, which has a relatively young population, might not be repeated in the U.S. The release of a large study from researchers in South Africa, the country that first warned the world of the emergence of the new variant in late November, provided some encouraging results. Explore COVID vaccines more popular ahead of holidays Officials think the variant is much more widespread in Georgia and across the country because health authorities have the capacity to genetically sequence only a small portion of test results to confirm its presence. Despite reports that the current vaccine may be less effective at preventing infection with the new variant, it still appears to guard against severe illness and deaths, they say.Īs of Wednesday, only five cases of omicron had been detected in Georgia. Toomey and other public health officials also urge adults who are six months out from completing the initial course of vaccination to get their booster shots.

As long as people are not vaccinated, COVID will continue to spread, and variants will continue to emerge.” “If you are someone who wanted to ‘wait and see’ about the vaccine, please don’t wait any longer. Toomey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health.

“My thought is whether it is delta or omicron or whatever comes next we have to get more people vaccinated,” said Dr. Though illness caused by omicron seems to be less severe than that caused by delta, if it proves more infectious and spreads further, it could still send greater numbers to emergency rooms and swamp state medical systems. Explore CORONAVIRUS IN GEORGIA/COMPLETE COVERAGE It was unclear which forecast was more likely. The first was a tidal wave of infections, both omicron and delta, arriving as soon as next month, just as influenza and other winter respiratory infections peak.įederal health officials also forecast a second scenario in which a smaller surge of omicron cases occurs in the spring. In a briefing on Tuesday with state and local health officials and representatives of public health labs across the nation, CDC officials warned of two possible scenarios. Virgin Islands, the percentage of omicron infections had already reached 13.1 percent, according to the latest estimates.ĭespite omicron’s rapid rise, it’s delta that still accounts for 99 percent of COVID-19 cases in Georgia. In the region comprising New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Other parts of the country are seeing omicron cases accelerate much faster. Visit here for COVID-19 Data Visualizations.In a southern region of eight states that includes Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Mississippi, for the week that ended Saturday omicron cases accounted for under 1% of all the coronavirus cases - 0.79% - according to the CDC. Note: States are ranked by deaths per 100,000. Here is a breakdown of average daily COVID-19 deaths and COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 people over the last seven days in all 50 U.S. had died after contracting COVID-19, according to The New York Times. Past Issues - Becker's Clinical Leadership & Infection ControlĪs of Feb 2, more than 889,522 people in the U.S.Current Issue - Becker's Clinical Leadership & Infection Control.

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