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'I am hopefully cautious and optimistic' | Medical expert answers questions on Omicron, vaccinations and surges

Dr. Darien Sutton, an ABC News Medical Contributor, talks with ABC10 about where we stand with COVID-19 so far in 2022.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Scientists are seeing signals that COVID-19′s alarming omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the U.S., at which point cases may start dropping off dramatically.

The reason: The variant has proved so wildly contagious that it may already be running out of people to infect, just a month and a half after it was first detected in South Africa.

 Related: Omicron may be headed for a rapid drop in US and Britain

ABC10's Walt Gray spoke Tuesday with Dr. Darien Sutton, an ABC News Medical Contributor about where we stand with COVID-19 so far in 2022.

This interview was edited for brevity. 

Question: Schools in our region are trying to stay open. Is it because the students are mostly vaccinated this go around with COVID?

A: You know, I've seen from prior studies, we understand that schools that practice mitigation efforts by masking when possible, vaccinating all of those who are eligible and doing some form of contact tracing and surveillance testing have low rates of outbreaks. And so we we can do that, we just need the amount of planning that's required to keep these kids and the staff that is helping them in school safe. And so I think it's possible, but of course, we need to have these mitigation efforts in place before we proceed.

Question: What timeline do you see Omicron on as far as peaking and trending down?

A: So I am hopefully cautious and optimistic, I'm relying on the data and the information provided by epidemiologists and scientists and the current projections, so that we will see a peak in the case rate around the first three weeks of this month, which is right around the corner. But of course, we have to remain cautious because after every peak in cases, we see a subsequent peak in hospitalizations. And right now, for example, here in Southern California and in New York City, the hospital volumes are at a capacity. That is not sustainable and it really unfortunately inhibits and creates suboptimal care for all patients COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related, which is why we really need to focus on keeping transmission low as low as possible.

Question: How does Omicron compare to the last COVID go-around we had starting in March 2020?

A: That is a fantastic question, especially to ease the anxious feelings of those who are looking at these numbers and having flashbacks of the initial periods of this pandemic. So much has changed, not just in the availability of vaccines, which has protected and protected more than hundreds of thousands of lives from hospitalizations and deaths.

But we also understand how this virus works, how it's transmitted.

In the hospital, we're no longer looking at these chest x-rays and these clinical findings with curiosity, but rather with understanding because we know how this virus progresses in terms of disease and we understand who is at risk, which right now still stands is first and foremost those who are unvaccinated. And then after that, those who are high risk include those who are over 65, those who have a history of obesity and those who have other comorbid medical conditions. And so we really need to focus on what we know in terms of protecting from transmission and helping with treatment.

And also aside from that, we also have treatment that is helpful like Remdesivir and Regeneron, which are basically antivirals and synthetic antibodies. All of these tools we use in the hospital and outside the hospital to protect from transmission and to help keep these patients safe.

Question: Are you seeing cases of unvaccinated people getting vaccinated for Omicron when they didn’t get vaccinated before?

A: I am seeing more and more people come in asking for their vaccine that I haven't really seen before.

Unfortunately, we still have states that are at high risk. For example, states like Alabama — at best 50% are fully vaccinated — which is concerning because the variant really hasn't taken a hold there yet. And we're seeing it move through states like California and New York that have high vaccination rates.

So, it concerns me that we still have a lot of work to do. And I also have a lot of people coming in and asking for their booster, which is really great. But I will advise that, of course, the emergency room, as I'm an ER doctor, it's not the best place to do it. But if you can, it's still OK to go out there and get your COVID-19 vaccine. And if you have not yet and you're eligible, get that booster.

Question: Health authorities around the U.S. are allowing nurses and other workers infected with COVID-19 to stay on the job if they are having mild symptoms. Some nurses and doctors have expressed concern that this could spread COVID-19 even further. What are your thoughts?

A: Absolutely, you know, these kind of recommendations come when we are under dire straits. Right now, the volumes are at a point where we just can't simply sustain, which creates recommendations like this.

I know from my personal experience and other physicians that I've worked with, the sentiment is that this is really frustrating because it's not to be expected that anyone who is taking care of patients be sick themselves. I'm hopeful that we never have to get to that, but I know in certain states, they have to move to that simply from necessity. And again... this doesn't just affect the care of those with COVID-19. You may not know when you will need a hospital for treatment, but treating basic things like appendicitis become incredibly difficult when there is no room to treat it.

And so we have to work to try to prevent outcomes like this from having providers being sick and treating patients and then having patients have suboptimal outcomes simply because there's no room to treat them.

Question: For those fully vaccinated and boosted, what advice do you have for them?

A: I want to reassure those who are vaccinated and especially those who are boosted, have substantial protection against hospitalization and death.

We have new incremental data from Washington, for example, that looks at over 1,000 people, and it shows that those who are unvaccinated are more than two to three times [more likely] to get infected. And those who are unvaccinated and over the age of 65 are more than six times [more likely] to get infected with this virus — the Omicron variant. And those who are unvaccinated, are more than ten times [more likely] to require hospitalization. 

So, it still shows that these vaccines are incredibly effective and not just preventing infection, but also hospitalization and death. And I want to reassure those that have these vaccines and boosters that if in fact you do get exposed and infected, you still have incredible protection.

Watch: Can you be reimbursed for COVID-19 tests?

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