||| FROM ANNE PRESSON for ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT |||
This week, Skagit County Health Department received confirmation from the Washington State Department of Health that the Omicron variant has been identified in three Skagit County residents.
Omicron is circulating in our surrounding community, and it is expected that infections from this new variant will continue to increase over the next several weeks.
Please be careful as you approach holiday travel.
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From my daughter in London:
The mayor of London, has declared a State of Emergency because the hospitals and emergency services are overwhelmed.
Changing our behaviors will make an immediate difference in reducing the spread of covid-19.
A negative rapid test may not ensure that a person does not have an early infection with the Omicron variant.
My granddaughter just returned from London and reports a general lack of mask wearing and other safe behaviors. The British government allowed the Delta variant to spiral out of control several months ago, by extremely lax protocols (except at the borders). The British healthcare system is woefully underfunded and understaffed, due to years of starvation by politicians and Brexit. Let’s put the British outbreak in its proper perspective, the Omicron outbreak is only pouring fuel on an already raging fire. It doesn’t necessarily predict outcomes here. Time will tell, but let’s try not to be drawn into Omicron hysteria fueled by a sensationalist media and our understandable PSTD from the 2020 experience. There are a lot more tools to manage the current outbreak, vaccines, antibody treatments, and others. Not necessarily reason for the current paranoia.
I have looked for antibody availability: Port Townsend and Everett are the closest possible places of administration (the antibodies require intravenous administration). The older antibody treatments (Regeneron) do not work for Omicron. Treatments may exist in theory, but can we get them in time?
Also, How many people get ‘long COVID?’ More than half, researchers find.:
https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/how-many-people-get-long-covid-more-half-researchers-find/
Unvaccinated people: please consider vaccination. My daughter is still unable to work after “recovering” from covid-19 in May 2020. It has been 20 months of misery.