More cases of the coronavirus's Omicron variant are being diagnosed in Louisiana, so public health leaders are urging more people to get vaccinated. They are trying to head off a fifth surge.
Step one is to get vaccinated, and if eligible, get a booster.
"It's the first layer of protection," said Dr. Jeffery Elder with LCMC Health. "We think with early data that the boosters really do give a much higher level of protection from getting symptomatic disease."
Dr. Elder is leading LCMC's vaccination effort. He says the vast majority of people who got sick and ended up in the hospital last summer were people who weren't vaccinated, and while he realizes it will be increasingly harder to convince people who have not elected to get the shot after eight-and-a-half months or more of being eligible, he and other will keep trying.
"And so will there be a diminishing return of how many we get everyday that are newly vaccinated? Sure. But I think it's still worth the effort to keep pushing out there why it's important," he said.
Dr. Elder also says while newly-approved anti-viral treatments for COVID-19 hold tremendous promise, there's no good reason to take chances.
"You wouldn't go to war and not wear a bullet-proof vest just because we have good surgeons that can take care of you on the back end," he points out. "It's the same thing.
Only 49.3 percent of Louisiana residents are fully vaccinated against COVID, and only about a fourth of fully-vaccinated people in the state have received boosters.
