COVID-19 is not behind us. Omicron is a reminder that COVID-19 is not only spreading faster than Delta, but that this virus is another mutation as it continues to infect populations around the world. More than 300,000 people a day in the US are getting infected. In fact, the Omicron variant has overtaken Delta in the number of infections each day in most of the world.
More people are being infected each day in the United States than anytime during this two-year COVID-19 pandemic. Who are the people that are getting infected?
Here are two charts from the CDC that we can use to answer that question. Unvaccinated people are 5 – 10 times more likely to get infected than vaccinated people. They are also 14 – 20 times more likely to die from COVID.
COVID Where I Live
The Omicron variant is many times more infectious than the Delta variant. The virus is on fire, not only in Georgia, where I live, but throughout the US. For example, I live in Cobb County, GA which is about 20 miles northwest of Atlanta. It’s a highly populated county. The positivity rate on the last day of 2021 was 29. The positivity rate the is the percentage of people testing positive who are tested in a particular region. This is very high.
For example, the CDC says that if the the positivity rate is more than 5, then schools should not open in that area. With this rate of positivity, Cobb County and Marietta City schools should not open on January 3rd until the positivity rate is reduced. Some counties, such as Gwinnett, are mandating masks for all students and teachers, but this is still a questionable decision if class sizes remain the same. Social distancing needs to be combined with masking to maximize safety for teachers and students.
Figure 4 shows the data that is relevant for Cobb County, GA. These data are not unusual for the US. Positivity rates have skyrocketed around the country just at the time of New Years celebrations and football bowl games.
Even if people are vaccinated, they should wear masks everywhere they go outside of their homes. CDC spokespersons have indicated that the present surge will not peak for a few more weeks.
This is the new normal for now.
0 Comments