'We're seeing different viruses with different characteristics.' Doctors address rise of Omicron variant in New Mexico.

The omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is expected to comprise 100 percent of COVID-19 infections in New Mexico within a week or two, state officials said Wednesday. 

Acting state Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase said during the Jan. 5 news conference that the variant first identified in November is "way into the chicken pox range" for infectiousness, as he predicted the seven-day case average would soon surpass the previous high mark set in November 2020. 

Per data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, omicron is spreading nationwide three times more quickly than the delta variant, which has fueled a surge in New Mexico's cases since July. 

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"I think the thing that most people are missing is, they think of (variants) as all one big lump of COVID," Scrase said. "Really, we're seeing different viruses with different characteristics." 

Scrase was cautiously optimistic, however, about early data suggesting omicron may be associated with fewer hospitalizations and deaths than previous strains. 

The state's hospital network continues to struggle with high loads of patients in need of care for COVID-19 as well as other ailments or injuries. While hospitalizations for the disease have plateaued in recent weeks, there remained long waits in emergency rooms for admissions, reduced staff and delays in care. At one point on Tuesday afternoon, only nine ICU beds were available across the state. 

Scrase noted that some federal healthcare teams reinforcing local hospitals have begun to move out; for instance, at San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington — one of eight hospitals in New Mexico to have enacted crisis standards of care — 75 supplemental healthcare workers had shrunk to 24. 

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"We remain up against it, and now the rest of the country will be joining us," Scrase said, referring to recent surges in hospitalizations in many other states as omicron rapidly spreads. 

While unvaccinated individuals continued to account for a majority (66.4 percent) of new cases, the number of "breakthrough" infections among the vaccinated was increasing, attributed to waning immunity from older vaccinations.

The state reported 2,514 new confirmed cases on Wednesday, but during a news conference Scrase acknowledged that with increased reliability and usage of home COVID-19 tests, daily case counts likely miss a growing number of cases and that he was paying closer attention to hospitalizations. 

Based on New Mexico Department of Health data, nearly 6,000 residents had died from COVID-19, which is also suspected of being an undercount, with a known case fatality rate of 1.6 percent.

Additionally, omicron renders most of the monoclonal antibody treatments the state has used to reduce hospitalizations from COVID-19. One newer treatment that remains effective against it, sotrovimab, is in scarce supply, and limited supplies of new oral therapeutics, approved under an emergency use authorization, were just beginning to be distributed. Scrase predicted it would be two to three weeks before production began to catch up with demand for the medications. 

Updated vaccine, booster guidance

Deputy Health Secretary Dr. Laura Parajón outlined the latest advice on vaccines and boosters, which varies by product and by age groups, based on CDC guidance that was updating even during the course of the day. 

Because of the growing significance of booster doses on top of earlier vaccinations, she explained that health officials were adjusting terminology from "fully vaccinated" to "up to date," meaning an individual has received a booster dose at recommended times. 

Vaccine/booster advice

Individuals 18 and older:

• Pfizer/BioNTech primary vaccine + any brand booster after five months
• Moderna primary vaccine + any brand booster after six months
• Johnson & Johnson primary vaccine + any brand booster after two months

Individuals 16 to 17:

• May only receive Pfizer/BioNTech primary and booster vaccines
• CDC strengthened recommendation Wednesday for this age group to get boosters

Individuals 12 to 15:

• Pfizer/BioNTech booster vaccines recommended after five months

Individuals 5 to 11:

• Pfizer/BioNTech primary vaccine only

Immunocompromised:

• Ages 5 and up: Booster from same brand as primary vaccine after 28 days
• Ages 16 and up: Boosters recommended up to four doses

Masks and testing advice

Parajón also addressed recommendations on mask-wearing. The state's mask mandate for indoor public spaces is set to expire Jan. 7, but health officials urged residents to continue either doubling up on masks in public settings or wearing a KN95 or N95 mask when social distancing is not possible. 

"At the end of the day, we're trying to prevent the spread and live with COVID," Parajón said. 

Scrase said if there was one single intervention he could execute universally to inhibit community spread, it would be keeping children home from school if they presented any symptoms of illness. 

In the meantime, the department was pursuing supplies of rapid test kits for schools and congregate facilities. During the coming legislative session, state Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, will also propose using $60 million in federal pandemic relief money to distribute KN95 or equivalent masks and home tests to New Mexico residents. 

Parajón presented complex and evolving guidance the state has adopted, mirroring CDC guidance:

Positive COVID-19 test

• Stay home, isolate from household members, inform recent close contacts
• Additional PCR test to confirm is not necessary
• If no symptoms after five days, you can end isolation while wearing mask around others for five more days
• If masking is impossible for some reason, isolate 10 days
• If you have fever, stay home until fever is gone 24 hours

Negative COVID-19 test

• If symptomatic, get PCR test or repeat home test in one or two days
• If repeat test is negative, no more testing is needed
• If no test is available and you present with symptoms, assume you are positive

Close contact with positive case

• If vaccinated and boosted, wear mask around others for 10 days
• Test five days after exposure, if possible
• If no test is available, assume you are positive and stay home
• If unvaccinated or not boosted, stay home for five days, test (on day 5 if possible), and wear a mask around others for five more days

On Jan. 4, the CDC again updated its guidance, which has aroused controversy among some medical experts because it does not require a negative test for someone to end isolation and interact with the public. Some have also criticized CDC's communications as confusing.

The latest update added a recommendation that if home tests are available and individuals wish to test, they should use the home test late in the five-day isolation period. It still did not recommend waiting for a negative test to end isolation. 

Other, stricter guidelines apply to healthcare settings and congregate facilities.

Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.