What can one do to assure protection against the new omicron variant?
Get the vaccine if you haven’t already, get a booster if you’re eligible, and step up other precautions you have relaxed, such as wearing a mask and avoiding crowds, to protect yourself from Omicron just how you did for COVID-19.
Despite all of the attention paid to omicron, the extra-contagious delta form remains the leading source of infections and deaths in many areas.
“Delta is the real risk right now. Omicron is an uncertain threat,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, told The Associated Press. Regardless of the coronavirus type, Collins said “we do know what to do.”
It will take a few weeks to figure out whether this latest variation is more contagious, causes more severe sickness, or evades immunity — and if so, by how much.
Meanwhile, according to Dr. Julie Vaishampayan of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, “what we need to do is add more layers of protection”. With holiday travel and festivities on the horizon, this is especially crucial.
One of those layers is a booster shot. The increased dose causes a significant increase in virus-fighting antibodies. Even if the antibodies aren’t as efficient against omicron as they are against other kinds, having more of them could compensate — in addition to improving delta protection.
Testing is an additional safeguard in addition to masking, avoiding crowds, and boosting ventilation. Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms or who may have come in touch with the virus should do so. Even if everyone in attendance took the vaccines, it could assist assure safety before holiday parties, according to Vaishampayan.
