Omicron variant has some Midlands residents rushing to get boosters

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - With concerns over the newly-discovered Omicron variant growing, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control continues to urge vaccinations and booster shots.

To aid in this effort, the city of Columbia partnered with DHEC to host a vaccine clinic Tuesday at Woodland Park.

Some people at the clinic said concerns about Omicron are a driving force leading them to get their boosters. One family said they’d put it off until news of the new variant emerged.

“I don’t want to take a chance and not get the booster, and don’t know what this new virus is going to do out here,” Leroy Clark, who received a booster, said. “Because nobody knows anything about it right now. So get your shots, get your booster and just try to stay safe.”

Leroy Clark had an appointment scheduled to get his booster shot next week, but when he heard about the Omicron variant, he decided to drive from Elgin to Columbia to get the shot on Tuesday.

He is like many concerned over this new variant. Dr. Tallulah Holmstrom, the Chief Medical Officer at MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center, is urging caution.

“Certainly we should be concerned, I don’t think we need to be unnecessarily alarmed,” she said. “So I’m most concerned about the fact that it’s highly transmissible so an awful lot of people who aren’t protected are at risk for getting ill.”

The push for boosters comes as the CDC strengthened its recommendation on Monday. They had previously said all adults over the age of 18 may get a booster, but they are now saying everyone 18 and older “should” get a booster shot.

Since August, third doses administered statewide have steadily increased from around 9,661 the week of August 15 to 40,257 last week. This is according to DHEC data.

66,191 third doses were administered the week of October 24, the highest weekly total since booster data became available.

Those numbers have fallen slightly from in the last month, though.

Holmstrom said she expects the discovery of the Omicron variant will lead to more boosters administered in the coming weeks and months.

Overall, 502,208 third doses have been administered in South Carolina, which accounts for almost nine percent of the 5,820,916 total vaccine doses given.

While the precise ability of the current vaccines to protect against the Omicron variant is unknown, Holmstrom said they should still prove to be somewhat effective.

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“When we give booster shots to folks, their immune response substantially improves,” she said. “So they have a substantial increased ability to fight off illness. And so when they’re faced with omicron or whatever other variant is out there, they’ll have a much better chance of one, not getting infected, and if they do get infected, being less sick, less severely ill, and decreased chance of being hospitalized or decreased chance of death from it.”

Desire for that added protection brought the Cascianos to the clinic.

“My husband and I both are in our 80s, and we just felt that we really needed to get this shot, this booster because of the variant that nobody really knows anything much about yet,” Happy Casciano, who received a booster, said.

As for those younger than 18, Pfizer-BioNTech recently announced that it will soon seek authorization to give boosters to 16- and 17-year-olds.

In addition to encouraging vaccination, officials with DHEC and MUSC are advising South Carolinians to continue to follow mitigation measures like wearing masks indoors in public places, washing your hands regularly and practicing social distancing when appropriate.

To find a vaccine clinic near you, state health officials say to look on DHEC’s vaccine locator.

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