Video: How much of a good sign is delta coronavirus variant’s diminished impact?
Updated: 6:42 PM EST Jan 18, 2022
JESSICA: THE OMICRON VARIANT CAUSES NEARLY 100% OF ALL NEW COVID-19 INFECTIONS IN NEW ENGLAND. HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION IS THE INTERIM DEAN OF THE MEDICAL SCHOOL AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST AT TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER. N:BE THE NUMBERS ON THE SCREEN, 99 POINT 2% OF INFECTIONS ARE OMICRON. — 99.2% OF INFECTIONS ARE OMICRON. OVERALL, DO YOU VIEW THAT AS GOOD NEWS? >> WE COULD VIEW THAT AS GOOD NEWS IN THAT WE HAVE PRETTY GDOO EVIDENCE THAT THE OMICRON VARIANT CAUSES A LESS SEVERE DISEASE. I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE FACT THAT OUR GOAL IS TO DECREASE ETH TRANSMISSION OF COVID, PERIOD. IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO GET THE VACCINE OR BOOSTER TO TAMP DOWN TH E TRANSMISSION OF THIS VIRUS. JESSA:IC THE U.S. AVERAGE IS 100,000 NEW COVID CASES EVERY DAY. DO YOU THINK THAT AMERICANS ARE LESS ANXIOUS ABOUT GETTING COVID? >> I THINK THAT THE NUMBERS ARE NUMBING AND ALL OF THESE NUMBERS ARE SO BA BIG. TGE VACCINATED, THAT INCLUDES GETTING A BOOSTER, THEY CAN BE LESS ANXIOUS ABOUT GETNGTI COVID BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE VACCINE PROTECTS AGAINST ILLNESS AND DEATH. WE HOPE THAT THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT GOTTEN THERE VACCINE WILL GO AHEAD AND DO SO. BEN: LET US GET TO A COUPLE OF EMAILS FROM VIEWERS. “MY FRIEND IS UNVACCINATED AND GOT COVID IN LEAT NOVEMBER. I ASSUME IT WAS DELTA BECAUSE OF THE LUNG ISSUES. WILL IMMUNITY PROTECT HIM FROM OMICRON?” >>OU Y CANNOT BE CERTAIN ABOUT THAT. WE HAVE SEEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE BECOME INFECTED WITH OMICRON AFTER DELTA. ENCOURAGE YOUR FRIEND ABOUT GETTING THE VACCINE. N:BE DO WE HAVE DATA IF OMICRON PROTECTS YOU FROM GETTING OMICRON AGN?AI >> THERES I SOME EVIDENCE THAT OMICRON PROTECTS AGAINST DELTA WHICH IS A GOOD THING. WE BELIEVE THAT THERE WILL BE PROTECTION AFTER OMICRON FROM GETTING OMICRON AGAIN. A STUDY JUST CAME OUT THIS WK,EE SHOWING THAT GETTING A BOOSTER AFTER NATURAL INFECTION STILL HELPS. YOU SHOULD GO AHEAD AND GET THE BOOSTER. JESSICA: ANOERTH QUESTION, “IS IT TRUE THAT PAPER MASKS AND CLOTH MKSAS ARE OK IF YOU CANNOT BLOW OUT A CANDLE WHILE WEARING ONE? IS THAT A GOOD TEST?” >> IT IS IMPORTANT OR A MASK THAT FITS TIGHTLY ABOVE YOUR NOSE AND BELOW YOUR CHIN AND THERE ARE ODGO DATA THAT SAYS WEARING A MULTILAYER PAPER MASK OVER A CTHLO MASK IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO IT AND EVEN POTENTIALLY MORE EFFECVETI WOULD BE A KN95. WEAR A MASK THAT FITS YOU WELL, TIGHTLY ACROSS YOUR FACE. BEN: WE DID SEE TODAY THAT THE FIRST DROP IN STATEWEID HOSPITALIZATIONS, ANY SIGN THAT THINGS MIGHT BE IMPROVING? >> IT IS STILL REALLY BUSY. WE HAVE A LOT OF SICK PATNTSIE WITH COVID AND PATIENTS WITH OTHER THINGS. UYO CANNOT VISAYAS ABOUT ENOUGH, THIS IS THE WINTER TIME, — YOU CANNOT SAVE Y THIS ENOUGH, THIS IS WINTERTIME. USED MITIGATION MEASURES SO ATTH WE CAN GET CARE TO THOSE WHO NEEDED AT THE HOSPITAL.
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Video: How much of a good sign is delta coronavirus variant’s diminished impact?
Updated: 6:42 PM EST Jan 18, 2022
A Boston doctor reacts to data that shows 99.2% of new COVID-19 cases in New England were caused by the omicron variant.
A Boston doctor reacts to data that shows 99.2% of new COVID-19 cases in New England were caused by the omicron variant.
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