Hamilton County officials are giving an update Wednesday on COVID-19 and the new omicron variant.Watch the live briefing in the player abovePREVIOUS STORY: As scientists work to unravel the secrets of the newly discovered variant, omicron, federal regulators are facing a new urgency to expand weapons already in place to fight COVID-19.“A mutation is a change from the way the virus initially was,” said Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Dr. Robert Frenck. “So, every time it changes a little bit, we don’t know what’s going to happen.” Frenck led the Pfizer studies at Children’s Hospital along with several other vaccine and booster studies on kids.“So far, the vaccines have contained the mutants, but we don’t know that’s always going to be the case,” Frenk said.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending that everyone eligible for a booster “should” get one.At the same time, federal regulators are deciding if boosters should be available to everyone down to age 16.Omicron is so new, little is known about how effective current vaccines are against it. Researchers believe there will be some level of vaccine protection against omicron.“We don’t know exact efficacy against omicron. They’re studying that now, but we do know it would likely be your best chance of defending against it,” said St. Elizabeth’s Suzi Francis.Researchers looking at omicron hope within about two weeks they’ll have more information about how contagious, deadly and resistant to vaccines it is.Meanwhile, doctors are urging people to get the vaccine to help with the current holiday surge and to prevent more mutants.“It’s just another reminder as to why we need to have everybody vaccinated, that’s the best way to keep these variants from happening,” Frenck said.
Hamilton County officials are giving an update Wednesday on COVID-19 and the new omicron variant.
Watch the live briefing in the player above
PREVIOUS STORY: As scientists work to unravel the secrets of the newly discovered variant, omicron, federal regulators are facing a new urgency to expand weapons already in place to fight COVID-19.
“A mutation is a change from the way the virus initially was,” said Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Dr. Robert Frenck. “So, every time it changes a little bit, we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Frenck led the Pfizer studies at Children’s Hospital along with several other vaccine and booster studies on kids.
“So far, the vaccines have contained the mutants, but we don’t know that’s always going to be the case,” Frenk said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending that everyone eligible for a booster “should” get one.
At the same time, federal regulators are deciding if boosters should be available to everyone down to age 16.
Omicron is so new, little is known about how effective current vaccines are against it. Researchers believe there will be some level of vaccine protection against omicron.
“We don’t know exact efficacy against omicron. They’re studying that now, but we do know it would likely be your best chance of defending against it,” said St. Elizabeth’s Suzi Francis.
Researchers looking at omicron hope within about two weeks they’ll have more information about how contagious, deadly and resistant to vaccines it is.
Meanwhile, doctors are urging people to get the vaccine to help with the current holiday surge and to prevent more mutants.
“It’s just another reminder as to why we need to have everybody vaccinated, that’s the best way to keep these variants from happening,” Frenck said.
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