Infectious illness doctor discusses COVID-19 reinfection with omicron, what to do when exhibiting indications

SAN ANTONIO – Dr. Ruth Berggren, an infectious disease specialist with UT Overall health San Antonio, joined anchors Steve Spriester and Myra Arthur throughout Thursday’s KSAT Q&A on the 6 p.m. News to explore COVID-19 reinfection with the new variant, omicron’s result on frontline health and fitness treatment staff and precautions to get for individuals who start demonstrating indications and can not discover a exam.

Thursday’s COVID-19 numbers

The San Antonio Metropolitan Overall health District explained the omicron variant has led to a three-fold enhance in each day scenarios of COVID-19 with the 7-day going ordinary of new day-to-day instances is now at 3,116.

ALSO ON KSAT.COM: 5 charts exhibit COVID-19 surge in San Antonio

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Metro Health’s COVID-19 dashboard confirmed an boost of 2,358 new situations on Thursday. There were being also 6 new deaths documented, bringing the complete to 15 deaths about the previous 7 days.

There are 625 COVID patients in neighborhood hospitals, with 142 in ICU and 52 on ventilators. Metro Health’s dashboard exhibits there are 10% of staffed beds obtainable and 65% of ventilators obtainable.

“At the Wellbeing Science Center, our opinion is that we’ll in all probability see a peak in about mid-January. We assume it to steeply drop off, and we hope to be back again to our prior baseline sometime in the initial week of February,” Berggren claimed. “So we never hope it to be as extended lived as, say, the delta surge that we experienced.”

See more of today’s COVID-19 figures and town means for the general public right here.

Frontline personnel out of circulation after infection

Berggren explained the overall health care workforce, as nicely as other industries, are having a strike owing to the surge of omicron circumstances.

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“Vaccinated medical doctors and nurses are acquiring symptomatic from omicron. And when that comes about, we have to take them out of circulation to defend the unwell individuals in the healthcare facility. So workforces are remaining influenced. That is that is not a hypothetical,” she mentioned all through the KSAT Q&A. “It’s previously occurring, and we want to do anything we can to double down and make sure that we keep our culture performing, which means maintaining all of our frontline personnel, regardless of what frontline employee it may well be, in great wellness.”

Reinfection amid omicron surge

Berggren reported folks have drastically fewer protection with omicron if they’ve experienced a diverse variant of COVID ahead of and are reinfected.

“Previously, we have been quoted that with a prior infection, you had perhaps up to an 85% safety from the delta variant, and that was specifically real for the very first 3 months or so just after your infection,” she said. “…Well, guess what? Omicron is a total new ballgame. Your protection from prior infection has fallen down as low as 19%. So from 85% safety for a number of months, down to 19%. Do not depend on your prior COVID an infection to defend you from omicron. To be guarded from omicron, you want to be fully vaccinated and boosted.”

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What to do till you can come across a exam

The infectious disease specialist talked over with Spriester and Arthur through the Q&A what people need to do right after getting exposed or coming down with signs and are not capable to get analyzed.

“If you’ve experienced an publicity — you’re unvaccinated, you do have to have to go home and you need to have to quarantine if you are symptomatic and you just cannot get a check,” Berggren reported. “But if you think you’ve got COVID centered on loss of smell or feeling achy or cough. Set your mask on and acquire yourself out of circulation. Which is likely to do a good deal of very good, even if the tests are not offered.”

View the full Q&A job interview with Dr. Berggren in the online video participant over.

Metro Wellbeing has introduced the locations of 3 new no-cost tests web-sites

• Alamo Schools District Assist Functions Creating, 2222 N. Alamo St. 78215 – Opens Thursday, January 6 at 8 a.m. and will work Monday as a result of Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Palo Alto University Developing 23 (Doing Arts Centre), 1400 W. Villaret Blvd. 78224 – Opens Friday, January 7 at 8 a.m. and will operate Monday by way of Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• St. Philip’s School, 1801 Martin Luther King Dr. San Antonio, TX 78203 – Opens Monday, January 10 at 8 a.m. and will work Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Metro Overall health says additional tests web sites will be declared as the areas are confirmed, and it will notify the general public when they are predicted to open up. No appointments are necessary for screening at the new stroll-up websites.

Town well being officers also offer the subsequent screening guidelines

• Think about using a self-examination ahead of signing up for indoor gatherings with some others who are not in your house.

• A positive self-take a look at final result signifies that you have an infection and must keep away from indoor gatherings to decrease the hazard of spreading the sickness to anyone else.

• A destructive self-test consequence implies that you may not have an an infection. Repeating the check with at least 24 several hours among tests will raise the confidence that you are not infected.

• Inquire your health care supplier if you need to have enable interpreting your take a look at effects.

Click on right here to access far more information about other town no-charge screening internet sites.

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