Pa. prepares for omicron COVID variant: What we know and don't know
Candy WoodallMany Pennsylvanians are diving into the holiday season and resuming pre-COVID traditions, but state health officials are preparing for their next challenge — the impending arrival of the new omicron variant.
While state residents may be eager to "get back to normal," the Pennsylvania physician general has a warning.
"We're not out of the pandemic yet," Dr. Denise Johnson said during an interview with the USA Today Network Pennsylvania Capital Bureau. "We're seeing cases go up, not down."
Coronavirus cases continue to rise in Pennsylvania, with 99% of them caused by the delta variant.
And now the omicron variant has been detected in South Africa, and on Wednesday it was found for the first time in the U.S. in San Francisco.
Though omicron hasn't been detected in Pennsylvania yet, Johnson knows it's coming.
"It's just a matter of time that it will be here," she said.
How is Pennsylvania preparing for next COVID variant
Pennsylvania "labs are on alert" and increasing their genomic sequencing to test for new variants, Johnson said.
The World Health Organization on Friday designated the new strain as a "variant of concern," but state, federal and global health officials are still working to answer some big questions.
"We don't know a lot yet," Johnson said. "We're concerned omicron is highly transmissible."
Scientists also don't know yet if omicron will make anyone sicker.
President Joe Biden on Monday said the new variant is "cause for concern, not cause for panic."
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said during a press briefing Tuesday that scientists don't yet know enough about how the variant behaves or spreads. But the genetic profile has been associated with increased transmissibility and immune evasion.
"It is very difficult to know whether or not this particular variant is going to result in severe disease," Fauci said.
Getting the vaccine
He and other officials continue to push for vaccinations.
Fauci said "existing vaccines are likely to provide a degree of protection against severe cases of COVID," and boosters are likely to offer additional protection.
"How do we address omicron? We’ve said it over and over again, and it deserves repeating — if you’re not vaccinated, get vaccinated," Fauci said.
Those who are vaccinated, should get boosted, he said. Fauci also recommended wearing masks, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday recommended COVID boosters to everyone 18 and older.
No omicron cases have been identified in the U.S., according to the CDC.
But some health experts believe the new variant is likely spreading undetected.
"Our surveillance in the U.S. is still not what it should be by a long shot," Julie Swann, a North Carolina State University professor who studies pandemic modeling and health systems, told USA TODAY. "It's almost positively in the U.S. but we’re not sequencing enough samples and we’re not testing enough people."
Johnson said Pennsylvania labs have increased their sequencing and are finding almost all new cases tied to the delta variant.
She does wish the state had more data that could tell the public more, but that is largely prevented because of healthcare privacy laws.
"Even nationally there's not a good way to track a person's strain and their outcome," Johnson said.
The latest variant is spreading as the state reaches the height of flu season, and fewer people are wearing masks and viral illnesses are spreading more.
Some states are already seeing their healthcare systems overwhelmed, such as New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to pause elective care at 37 hospitals.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has not announced any similar measures in Pennsylvania. Johnson said she doesn't think there's any intention to require masks again in the state.
Vaccines are the best tool Pennsylvania has to fight COVID infections, Johnson said.
"Get vaccinated, get boosted," Johnson said. "It's the best protection."
New strain:What are omicron variant symptoms? Everything to know about the latest coronavirus strain.
President Biden:Omicron coronavirus variant 'a cause for concern, not a cause for panic'
Candy Woodall is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania Capital Bureau. She can be reached at 717-480-1783 or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.