Marinscope
The day after Thanksgiving, Marin and the world faced a new threat in the battle to defeat COVID-19.
A new variant called “Omicron” appeared in southern African nations. This mutation appeared to spread fast and the effect of the current vaccinations was unknown.
The markets around the world tanked on the news. Omicron spread to Europe and the United Kingdom. By daybreak in the United States the EU and the UK had already instituted travel cautions in an effort to nip the spread of the variant. The United States responded later in the day.
In the Bay Area, scientists monitored the science over the weekend to see what, if any, changes Omicron would dictate more stringent health precautions.
As of Marinscope deadline for the Dec. 1 edition, the guidance from the Marin Health Department remained steady: Get vaccinated, get the booster, observe hygiene rules and mask up.
Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, told the San Francisco Chronicle last week that omicron punctuates the need for vaccine equity. Wealthy countries are coping and getting vaccinated. Poor countries are not.
“It’s completely tragic, and a profound moral and ethical failing.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom returned to the state on Sunday night after spending much of the last week in Mexico. The Omicron developments were on his mind.
The governor’s administration ramped up its response to the Omicron variant. The California Department of Public Health said Sunday that it plans to increase COVID-19 testing at airports serving travelers from southern Africa, track the variant through genetic sequencing, and continue to promote vaccines and booster shots.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, said Saturday that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the omicron coronavirus variant — which has already been detected in countries outside of southern Africa including the U.K., Hong Kong and Israel — is already circulating in the U.S., and travel restrictions would only buy time to better assess the virus before it spreads around the globe.
Fauci also said that more research is needed, but it looks like omicron is likely more transmissible than the original form of the virus.
On Thanksgiving, omicron cases in southern African countries spiked from about 200 a day to 2,465. That sounded alarm bells with the world’s scientists.
Scientists in the U.S. are studying omicron and how effective the current booster shots will be against it. Lab tests are on going. The CDC is expected this week to issue more guidance on the development, which should then filter down to more Bay Area and Marin guidance.
At the beginning of this week, the Marin Health Department’s recommendations remained unchanged. Total cases in Marin remained at 15,849 cases and 198 deaths.
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