BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) It's game-on between the Delta and Omicron variants, says Dr. Tom Russo, Chief of Infectious Disease at the Jacobs School of Medicine. Russo discussed how the new variant is likely to progress on WBEN Friday morning.
Do the two strains co-exist for a while? Does one end up dominating the other? "We're going to see this play out," said Russo. "The key thing is, if Omicron is more transmissible than Delta, it will eventually dominate. If they have a similar degree of transmissibility, and with Delta so entrenched, it may be difficult for Omicron to go ahead." Russo believes the latter is less likely because of the way Omicron cases are being described globally.
"Omicron is going to have to out-compete Delta," said Russo. He is expecting to learn more about the variant in the next few weeks.
Currently in Erie County, about 37% of patients hospitalized with Covid are fully vaccinated. "That number is misleading said Dr Russo. "A number of these individuals may be asymptomatic and Covid was detected because they came in for something else, or they are mildly ill. He said it also points to the need for a third shot. A booster is absolutely critical in his opinion.
Russo says the data is quite clear. If you're unvaccinated, you're nearly ten-fold more likely to land in a hospital. And he said you're fourteen-fold more likely to die. "Vaccines are working. And if you are vaccinated and end up in a hospital, you're much more likely to get out of the hospital than the unvaccinated. Vaccination remains the central strategy to get on the other side of this pandemic," he said.
A person is considered fully vaccinated after two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But Russo says three shots is the new "fully vaccinated" status, as far as he's concerned.
There is currently a record surge in cases locally. Erie County had a record 926 Covid positive cases on Wednesday, December 1. That is a daily high since the pandemic began. Seven people died Wednesday.
Is the surge an indication that the mask mandate, in place for about ten days in Erie County, is not working? "I don't think so," said Russo. "Masks work, let's be clear. But they only work when you use good masks that fit properly
in all venues. Public facing venues are only part of where we interact with other individuals. Our own households are a point of spread when we have people over and use poor judgement by mixing vaccinated and unvaccinated people." Erie County is about 64% fully vaccinated, so we have a ways to go," he said.
