Omicron So Contagious Most Americans Will Get Covid, Top US Health Officials Say: FDA Head, Fauci

[appalachiablue]

- The Guardian, Jan. 12, 2022. - Ed. - FDA head Janet Woodcock says most people will become infected, while Fauci says variant will ‘ultimately find just about everybody.’ -

Federal health authorities in America have said the Omicron Covid-19 variant is so contagious it is likely most people in the US will be infected, and compared the pandemic to a “natural disaster”. Authorities said even as Omicron shatters records for new cases, they are hopeful the surge will quickly subside, and said the US needs to focus on ensuring hospital systems do not collapse amid the surge.

“I think it’s hard to process what’s actually happening right now, which is [that] most people are going to get Covid, all right?” said Janet Woodcock, the acting head of the Food and Drug Administration. “What we need to do is make sure the hospitals can still function … [that] transportation, other essential services are not disrupted while this happens.” Woodcock made the comments at a Senate hearing where senators, especially Republicans, harshly questioned administration officials tasked with responding to the pandemic, including Woodcock, Rochelle Walensky, the head of the CDC, and the president’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci.

With several major mutations, the Omicron variant has spread rapidly around the globe and shattered records for new daily cases in the US. The CDC reports that the variant is now responsible for more than 98% of Covid-19 cases in the US, replacing Delta in less than a month. But the variant is believed to be less lethal than previous strains and there is some evidence it may quickly peak. However, even as Omicron sends fewer patients to the hospital as a proportion of total cases, the deluge of cases has put hospitals, schools and businesses under strain.

An average of more than 761,000 Americans a day tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. Even this tally is known to be a vast undercount, because few people report the positive results of at-home rapid tests to health authorities. On the same day last year, also the peak of a winter surge, an average of 251,232 people tested positive for Covid-19. Even as Omicron stresses essential systems, severe illness is not inevitable, and health authorities stressed the importance of vaccination to reduce the likelihood of severe illness.

The CDC is also considering a recommendation for Americans to wear N95 and KN95 masks, rather than cloth ones, if possible...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/12/omicron-covid-contagious-janet-woodcock-fauci

[Lovie777]

1. Fingers crossed that Omicorn weakens Sar2 COVID and reduces it . . ..

as a mild/minor flu and or cold.

It appears that the vaccinated are creating "Herd Immunity".

[appalachiablue]

2. That's the desired direction. I'd also like to see

more research on long term impacts of Covid realizing this will take time.

Omicron may be 'milder' compared to Delta Plus and for vaxxed, mostly healthy people but for those with comorbidities and disabilities it can be a different experience. This subject needs more attention in reporting and not the way Walensky handled it recently.

[Farmer-Rick]

3. But even with mild symptoms you can get long COVID

"Though much remains unknown about omicron, experts say the variant could lead to long Covid, even with a mild case. Patients with long-term symptoms can experience crushing fatigue, irregular heart rhythms and other issues months after their initial Covid infection."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna9469

More horror awaiting us. Even in 1918 they had long term flu symptoms that even lead to death.

Avoid it no matter how mild the symptoms. If you can go back to isolation, do it. Wear N95 or K95 masks. I actually wear a N95 with a cloth mask over that. It is no more inevitable that you get Omicron then if you get the original variant.

I hate headlines like that. It implies you should just give up protecting yourself. You don't have to catch it. A lot of people won't catch it after it has passed over. The UK is seeing a drop in infections already and they think they will have a omicron variant vaccine by March.

Hang in there......it is NOT inevitable that you catch it.

[appalachiablue]

4. It does come off as a 'give up' message and I don't know why..

Covid can be avoided in these times if you try your best by vaxxing, wearing good masks, hand washing, social distancing, being careful and using your brain- until and if it calms down and likely becomes endemic as experts predict.

Yes, Long Covid is a disturbing, baffling illness that needs much more attention and research. Studies will also be forthcoming on the long term effects of Covid infection in the future, 5-15 years from now as with other serious health issues and viruses in the past.
____
- What you said:

> Wear N95 or K95 masks. I actually wear a N95 with a cloth mask over that. It is no more inevitable that you get Omicron then if you get the original variant.

I hate headlines like that. It implies you should just give up protecting yourself. You don't have to catch it. A lot of people won't catch it after it has passed over. The UK is seeing a drop in infections already and they think they will have a omicron variant vaccine by March.

Hang in there......it is NOT inevitable that you catch it.