"This virus will find you if you don't get vaccinated."
COVID cases have increased by 20%, hospitalizations have increased by 14%, and Omicron represents 73% of cases, up from 1% just a few weeks ago. How can you keep yourself safe? Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, appeared on MSNBC with John Heilemann to explain how terrible things could go. Read on for five life-saving tips.
1. Virus Expert Warns No Place in America Will be Spared
"I don't think any region of America will be spared," Osterholm added, "but let's break this down into two buckets." The first is transmitted mission. This virus is genuinely remarkable. It's pretty infectious. If you haven't been vaccinated or have been vaccinated but don't have all three doses on board, this virus will find you and cause severe disease. The seriousness of the illness, on the other hand, falls into the second bucket. And, as we have seen in South Africa and early data from England, it is less severe. In other words, compared to what we witnessed in the Delta, only around 50% of the hospitalization level among people 65 and older were seen in South Africa. But the difference is that with such significant increases in transmissibility for whatever reason, and fewer persons seriously ill, the number of people who will become infected will be huge." As a result, we may have "The same number of people, if not more, who are currently in our Delta hospital are now in Omicron's hospital. So I believe that is the problem we have, and we must educate the healthcare systems in this country to understand it. We're going to have a problem in terms of healthcare standards. Let's go with it. What we don't realize is how horrible this is going to be."
2. Done With COVID? Too Bad. COVID "Will Find You"
"With this pandemic, the country is over with us," Osterholm added. "The issue is that the infection is still with us. It will find you; there is no way to time out on this one in the game. Even people who have been partially vaccinated, which would have provided some protection against the virus in the past, will likely have very little protection against this one unless they have received all three doses. So I believe we have to keep hitting that point home. And, once again, this virus will find you if you do not get vaccinated."
3. We're Going to "Get Hit Hard."
President Biden declared yesterday that 500 million Americans would receive free COVID tests at home, that the military would assist hospitals, and that new vaccine sites would be established. Is that sufficient? "For the three to eight week period, we must again divide into two buckets. We don't have many solutions here, and we're going to see many more places affected by the viral blizzard I mentioned before. It could be classified as a category five hurricane. We are not prepared for it in many sections of the country. What we're discussing is how we'll deal with it. Next month, five months from now, ten months from now, you know. During the next three to eight weeks, we're going to be walloped. We have to get through that."
4. Virus Expert Said One "Terrible Problem" Will be Doctors and Nurses Catching COVID and Also Being Overwhelmed
"Right now in our country, we need to address two different kinds of needs," Osterholm added. "One is three weeks; in eight weeks, we will be in the middle of a viral blizzard that will cover the entire country. As you may be aware, Delta has generally been focused in the Upper Midwest and Northeast, and some people in other parts of the country are asking, "What's the big deal with COVID right now?" So, it's going to touch all 50 states. Testing will be grossly insufficient, but I believe that healthcare staff will be the most significant factor. We learned today that a thousand military medical workers would be dispatched. Additional FEMA personnel will be dispatched. There are 22 million healthcare workers in the United States, including 9.3 million doctors, nurses, and technologists, of whom I expect 10 to 30 per cent to become infected in the next three to eight weeks. And if we already believe we have a serious problem in our healthcare systems as a result of Delta's actions, this will complicate the problem... It's not the respirators or the ventilators that are the most difficult for me. Personnel will be the issue."
5. How to Stay Safe Out There
Get vaccinated or boost your vaccinations as soon as possible; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, avoid large crowds, don't go indoors with people you aren't sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene.