“This pandemic is nowhere near
over."
Whatever we do in America to tackle the coronavirus, your health
and safety are in the hands of everyone in the world. (The development of the
new Omicron variant, which was initially discovered in South Africa, shows
this.) So it's best to pay attention when the World Health Organization warns
that the COVID pandemic is far from over and that a new variant may arise.
That's precisely what they did just before yesterday. Read on for five
life-saving tips from them and other virus experts.
1. Virus Expert Warned This Pandemic is Nowhere Near Over
"This pandemic is far from over," Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, told reporters
at WHO headquarters in Geneva. "On average, Omicron is less severe,"
Tedros said, "but the idea that it is a mild disease is misleading."
"Make no mistake: Omicron is causing hospitalizations and deaths, and even
the milder cases are cluttering up hospitals." Even though it peaked in
some countries and in some American states like New York and maybe
Florida—which "gives hope that the worst of this last wave is over, but no
country is out of the woods yet," according to the report—"no country
is out of the woods yet." On CNN's State of the Union, Surgeon General Dr.
Vivek Murthy said, "This is a tough period during this spike."
"We're seeing a lot of cases and a lot of hospitalizations." In
addition, many of our hospitals around the country are experiencing
strain."
2. Virus Expert Warned of New Variants
"With Omicron's amazing global growth, new variants are
likely to develop," Tedros said. Given this, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the
president's chief medical advisor and director of the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Wednesday that it's too early to tell
whether Omicron would signal the end of the pandemic. Dr. Ashish Jha is in
agrees. On CNBC's The News with Shepard Smith, he stated, "But I guess I
look at it a little bit differently." "Do you mean, will there be
more variants in the future?" Sure. Almost likely. There definitely will
be. The point is that I'm hoping Omicron educates us enough so that we can
manage the rest of this pandemic, however long it lasts, and transition to the
new normal in which we treat this virus as an endemic." However, that time
is not now; as the WHO has said, we are in the middle of a pandemic.
3. Virus Expert Said to Stay Your Safest, Get Vaccinated
"Vaccines may be less effective at preventing Omicron
infection and transmission than they were for previous variants, but they are
still extremely effective at preventing serious disease and death," Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "We see that if you've had your primary series,
which is your two shots of Pfizer or Moderna or your one shot of the Johnson
& Johnson vaccine, you still have a decent protection against
hospitalization and death," Murthy continued, "but getting that
booster shot increases that protection even more and increases your protection
against all infection." So, for everybody you know who hasn't gotten
boosted yet, if you're at the five-month mark after your primary Moderna or
Pfizer series, get boosted. If you've been off Johnson & Johnson for two
months, please get boosted as soon as possible."
4. Virus Expert Warns Our Healthcare Systems are Strained and
Breaking
"Omicron is still conquering the globe. I'm still concerned
about countries with poor vaccination rates because unvaccinated people are
much more likely to catch illnesses and death. Dr. Ghebreyesus tweeted, "I
urge everyone to do their best to reduce the risk of infection and help to
relieve the burden on health services." COVID hospitalizations are
increasing at such a rapid rate that "at this time, our healthcare system
in this country is hanging on by a thread." Dr. Michael Osterholm,
Director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease
Research and Policy, said on C-Washington SPAN's Journal yesterday. He warned
that the pandemic was far from ended and that worse variants could develop.
"We may have to prepare for this again," he said.
5. How to Stay Safe Out There
He said, "Now is not the time to give up and wave the white flag." "By efficiently sharing and using health tools, as well as implementing public health and social measures that we know work, we may still greatly reduce the impact of the present wave." So, no matter where you live, get vaccinated or boosted 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're not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene.