A clinic in Sacramento, California, said it's seeing an uptick in people getting their COVID-19 vaccine as we approach the holidays.James Broderick is one of those people who stopped by Urgent Care Now. He was getting his booster shot. "We're just looking forward to the holidays," Broderick said. "The last couple years have just been real rough on everybody and particularly those of us who have big families."Federal health officials announced Monday that omicron is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S., accounting for 73% of new infections last week. And experts expect a surge of new cases following family gatherings during the holidays. "We'll probably see almost twice as many cases towards the end of January as we're seeing today," said Dr. Dean Blumberg, who specializes in pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Health. "So, we're already going to get that increase, and omicron will just make that worse. Blumberg also explained that with a more contagious variant, there will likely be more breakthrough infections."The early reports suggest we're seeing more breakthrough infections with omicron, that it's somewhere between two and five times more transmissible than delta, and that's why we are seeing more cases," Dr. Blumberg said.However, he said, the purpose of the vaccine is not to prevent infection entirely but rather to prevent severe infection. Dr. Blumberg said early data shows people with their booster shots had about 70% protection against hospitalization with the omicron variant."Vaccination is still the No. 1 way to protect against infection, including omicron, and masking is a close second," Dr. Blumberg said. Watch the video above for the full story.
A clinic in Sacramento, California, said it's seeing an uptick in people getting their COVID-19 vaccine as we approach the holidays.
James Broderick is one of those people who stopped by Urgent Care Now. He was getting his booster shot.
"We're just looking forward to the holidays," Broderick said. "The last couple years have just been real rough on everybody and particularly those of us who have big families."
Federal health officials announced Monday that omicron is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S., accounting for 73% of new infections last week. And experts expect a surge of new cases following family gatherings during the holidays.
"We'll probably see almost twice as many cases towards the end of January as we're seeing today," said Dr. Dean Blumberg, who specializes in pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Health. "So, we're already going to get that increase, and omicron will just make that worse.
Blumberg also explained that with a more contagious variant, there will likely be more breakthrough infections.
"The early reports suggest we're seeing more breakthrough infections with omicron, that it's somewhere between two and five times more transmissible than delta, and that's why we are seeing more cases," Dr. Blumberg said.
However, he said, the purpose of the vaccine is not to prevent infection entirely but rather to prevent severe infection. Dr. Blumberg said early data shows people with their booster shots had about 70% protection against hospitalization with the omicron variant.
"Vaccination is still the No. 1 way to protect against infection, including omicron, and masking is a close second," Dr. Blumberg said.
Watch the video above for the full story.
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