Expert advice to avoid the impact of the omicron variant 8:47
(CNN) -
The omicron variant of the coronavirus will make it difficult to start 2022, experts say.
And as new infections emerge, healthcare resources will be depleted and government agencies adapt to cope with changing conditions.
"January is going to be a very, very difficult month and people should prepare for a month where a lot of people will be infected," Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University, told CNN. Michael Smerconish, this Monday.
The omicron variant is spreading rapidly and the number of cases is already increasing.
The seven-day average of new cases per day was 237,061 as of Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
That's an increase from an average of 86,203 new cases daily at the beginning of the month.
"I think we're going to see half a million cases a day, easily, sometime between the next week and the next 10 days," CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner told CNN on Sunday.
Jha said that most vaccinated and boosted people will not get serious illness, but that won't be true for unvaccinated people.
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"Many people who have not received a vaccine will end up getting quite sick, and it will be quite disturbing," Jha said.
"My hope is that as we get to February and certainly by the time we get to March, the infection numbers go down, and also spring is coming and the weather will start to improve and that helps too."
Latinos who continue to fight due to covid-19 in New Jersey are on high alert by omicro
How to celebrate Christmas before the arrival of omicron?
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Experts urge to continue protecting oneself by the omicron variant
Jha said that people can protect themselves by getting vaccinated or getting a booster dose and taking precautions in public.
"I urge people to use a higher quality mask whenever they are in a crowded place and are going to be indoors for an extended period of time," Jha said.
A surgical mask would be fine for a quick trip to the supermarket in an empty store, but for other events, a well-fitting N95 or KF94 mask provides better protection, he said.
Heading into Friday New Year's Eve, small gatherings of fully vaccinated people will be safe, Dr. Anthony Fauci said.
But he advised people to avoid large parties where they do not know the vaccination status of all the guests.
"When you talk about a New Year's Eve party where you have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating, you don't know the status of the vaccination, I highly recommend: stay away from that this year," said Fauci, the director of the National Allergy Institute. and Infectious Diseases.
"There will be other years to do that. But not this year."
Covid-19 cases among children have hospitals 'on the edge'
Holiday gatherings, like those at Christmas and New Years, have some healthcare workers concerned about the impact on children in the coming weeks, especially those who are too young to be vaccinated.
"It's going to be a very interesting couple of weeks. We just had all these kids mingling with everyone else over Christmas. We have one more holiday to spend the New Year on, and then we'll send everyone back to school," she said. Dr. Claudia Hoyen, director of pediatric infection control at UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Ohio.
"Everyone is waiting on the edge, wondering what we will end up seeing."
Ómicron attacks children and the figures prove it 0:42
Hoyen's comment comes as pediatric hospitalizations for COVID-19 approach the record set in September.
Pediatric hospitalizations in New York City increased fivefold in a three-week period.
In Chicago, hospitalizations in a children's hospital have quadrupled.
At Children's National Hospital in Washington, about half of the tests for COVID-19 are positive.
At Hoyan Hospital in Cleveland, half of all symptomatic tests are positive for Covid-19.
She believes that about 75% of those cases are due to the omicron variant, but Hoyen said Northeast Ohio is slightly behind other parts of the county and is still ending a large increase in pediatric cases of the delta variant. which started about a month ago.
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"If it's less severe on omicron, that would be great," Hoyen said.
"But then again, the large number of children who could get sick could still be really problematic for us."
"It's almost like you can see the train coming down the track and you're hoping it doesn't derail," Hoyen added.
While the delta variant infected more children than previous variants, omicron looks even worse, said Dr. Stanley Spinner, medical director and vice president of Pediatrics and Urgent Care at Texas Children's in Houston.
"What is worrying on the (pediatric) side is that, unlike adults, where they report the number of infected adults, a relatively low number of hospitalized, what we are really seeing, we believe, is an increase in the number of children. hospitalized, "Spinner said.
Children are easy targets for the virus, Dr. Juan Salazar, chief physician at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, told CNN.
"It is affecting larger communities and it is certainly affecting children in a way that we have not seen before. And that is new compared to last year," he said.
CDC updates isolation guidelines
Days after updating its guidance on isolation time for healthcare workers who test positive for COVID-19, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also updated its guidance for the general population.
CDC shortens recommended isolation and quarantine times for covid-19
The CDC reduced the recommended isolation time from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to five days, if they were asymptomatic, followed by five days of wearing a mask when they were around other people.
"The change is motivated by science showing that most SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of the disease, usually in the 1-2 days before the onset of symptoms and 2-3 days later, "the CDC said in a statement announcing the updated guidelines.
"The new CDC recommendations will allow us to address all of these nuisances and reduce them to allow people to return to work earlier and safely with very low risk," Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases, told CNN. at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
"That will help us in the New Year to start getting our gears working again and working better."
The CDC also updated its recommended quarantine period for those exposed to COVID-19.
For those who are not vaccinated, have not received a second dose of mRNA vaccines in more than six months, or have not received a booster shot, the CDC recommends quarantine for five days followed by strict mask use for an additional five days.
People who have received the booster vaccine do not need to self-quarantine if exposed to COVID-19, but must wear a mask for 10 days after exposure, the statement read.
Fauci said Monday that the changes the CDC made to its isolation guidelines for covid-19 are a good idea.
"I think it was a very wise and good choice on the part of the CDC, which we spent a considerable amount of time discussing, that is, getting people to come back in half the time they would have been away so they can do it again. back to the workplace, doing things that are important for society to run smoothly, "Fauci told CNN's Jim Acosta.
- CNN's Maggie Fox, Jen Christensen, Chris Liakos, Sonnet Swire, Kevin Liptak and Jennifer Corn contributed to this report.
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