Health officials are calling for these measures as a new variant of COVID emerges

“We watch our positivity rates; we are monitoring our hospital stays, ”said Mannepalli. “We’re watching very closely what is happening, not just here in Hall County but also in hospitals in the greater Atlanta area. … I really hope that we get our vaccination rates really high and that we follow these other preventive measures of masking, social distancing and hygiene so we don’t see further increases to the extent we have seen before. “

The Georgia Department of Health wrote in a press release on Monday, November 29th, that it was closely monitoring the emergence of the variant of Omicron, which was first discovered in southern Africa. According to a statement, the variant has not yet been detected in Georgia. Scientists are studying the variant to see how quickly and easily it spreads, whether it causes more severe diseases, and how well current COVID-19 vaccines protect against them, the statement said.

“What is known is that the COVID vaccination helps stop the transmission of infections, which prevents the emergence of new variants,” said Dr. Kathleen Toomey, Commissioner of the DPH. “With the advent of this new variant and the holidays at the doorstep, vaccination is more important than ever.”

Omicron was classified as a “questionable variant” by the World Health Organization on Friday, November 26th.

“We have to be cautiously optimistic,” said Mannepalli. “I hope it’s not there yet, but we’ll have to wait and see what we find from (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and (DPH) in the coming days.”

The omicron variant can be detected with PCR tests.

On Monday, the CDC updated its booster recommendations to say that all adults aged 18 and over should receive a booster vaccination six months after completing their first series of mRNA vaccines and two months after receiving the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Previously, the CDC had stated that people aged 18 and over can receive a booster vaccination after consulting their family doctor, and recommended vaccination only for certain population groups at higher risk for serious illnesses and those aged 65 and over.

People can also get another booster dose from their original series, which means someone who received Moderna for the first time could get a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

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