Pandemic Task Force discusses living with COVID
At its Jan. 10 meeting, the Pine Island Pandemic Task Force discussed the effects of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. According to Dr. James Koopman, a new approach is to think about how to handle all respiratory infections over the long term and the role COVID plays in this thinking. The good news, Koopman said, is that the Omicron variant does not attack deep in the lung tissue as well as the previous variants, according to recent evidence.
“So we are getting lower death rates,” Koopman said.
The reason for this, he explained, is correct diagnosis, coupled with proper treatment. In many places, however, the variant is leading to incapacity of local hospitals, he said. COVID is here to stay, although, the surge of the new Omicron variant will likely fall as sharply as it ascends, due to its transmissibility.
“We are definitely having endemic Sars Corona Virus-2 circulation. We are not getting rid of it for the rest of time,” Koopman said.
The wave of the new Omicron variant could go on through March, in various parts of the country, said Koopman. Continued vaccination programs are key, he explained, in generally liberating the population from the virus for a year or more.
Task Force member Mary Lewis Sheehan said the group ought to be thinking about concrete things that can be done on the island. In person gatherings have gone back and forth, depending upon the group meeting, and its needs.
Some recent face-to-face meetings and events have been canceled due to the high transmission rate of the Omicron variant, Sue Dahod said.
Wearing a mask is still a useful way to cut the rate of transmission, Koopman said.
“Masking makes a huge difference. If you are concerned about protecting yourself and your family, that’s one thing you ought to insist upon and, of course, not only if you’re going to have other people in your house, but if other people are going to be gathering in your house around those who are at high risk,” Koopman said.
Koopman, being part of an epidemiological group, said there could be as much as a hundred-fold difference in wearing just a cloth mask and a more equipped N-95 mask.
While masking is important, he said, if a person is out in public, especially in highly populated places that pose a risk of becoming infected, getting tested is another important component. The incubation period for Omicron can be as short as two days, Koopman said.
Regarding testing, he maintains, while the home tests are less sensitive, the result on public health is not having to wait to find out the result from your test.
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