LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health believes the steep increase in COVID-19 cases is a reflection of how quickly the Omicron variant is spreading and shared Thursday night what it knows so far about the mutated virus.
“These numbers make it crystal clear that we are heading into very challenging times over the winter holidays,” health officials said. “While many will be protected against the most severe illness from Omicron because they are fully vaccinated and boosted where eligible, very high case numbers can easily cause significant stress to the health care system if even a small percentage of those infected require hospital care.”
What have we learned about Omicron?
New information about Omicron is emerging rapidly, the department said, adding that over the past week, health officials have learned that immunity from past Covid infection does not effectively prevent Omicron infections.
“In a study conducted in the United Kingdom, the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant was five times the risk of reinfection with other variants,” health officials said.
“Some good news is that we are learning that mRNA vaccines and boosters (Pfizer and Moderna) still provide some protection for preventing Omicron infection and hospitalization.”
Health officials explained that a South African study demonstrated that “two doses of the Pfizer vaccine had 34% effectiveness at preventing Omicron infection and that receiving a booster raised vaccine effectiveness to 75%.”
They added that in another South African study, two doses of the Pfizer vaccine had 70% effectiveness at preventing Omicron-related hospitalizations.
“Because severe illness is what causes the most individual suffering and the greatest likelihood of overwhelming our healthcare systems,” the department siad. “It is critically important information to know that vaccination and booster doses continue to make a significant difference in outcomes.”
What can we do about Omicron?
Health officials said the County is expriencing the beginning of another winter surge, but that this time around there are more tools than ever before.
“These life-saving tools – vaccines and boosters, testing and masking – can help keep us all protected this winter,” health officials said, adding that they believe the most effective tools to be vaccines.
“We encourage everyone five and older not yet vaccinated or boosted to do so with a sense of urgency,” the department said.
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