An expert from the Harvard Medical School has recommended that COVID-19 vaccinations should be a "family affair" as it is still the best protection against the threats of Omicron, the newest COVID-19 variant.
In an op-ed piece on ABC News, Dr. Rebecca Weintraub said that vaccination is still the "fastest route" to curbing the spread of the virus amid reports that Omicron is in at least 10 states in America. She added that access to vaccines, especially for the children, should be expedited because it's still at 40 percent for the young ones, while fully vaccinated adults are currently nearing 70 percent.
Weintraub believes that streamlining the process for vaccine appointments should be more accessible, allowing group bookings for the whole family. This also means that vaccines for adults must also be offered at private pediatricians' offices in the same way vaccines for kids are available across pharmacies.
The expert also said that families must advocate for a vaccination with each other this holiday season.
"Messaging around vaccinations protects loved ones," the doctor said. "In addition, we support the ongoing efforts by families to decrease transmission by deploying rapid tests, evidence-based masking and improving ventilation when possible."
CDC Hasn't Change Recommendations
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that the safety tools against virus transmission remain the same, regardless of the COVID-19 variant. She noted that COVID-19 vaccinations and "mask wearing, social distancing, and increased testing" will still be effective against Omicron.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also had the same recommendations. Dr. Takeshi Kasai of WHO said that their current information regarding Omicron suggested that changes aren't needed with the responses established by governments. However, Kasai noted that it would be prudent for everyone to "prepare for new surges in cases."
In the U.S., Omicron cases have been confirmed in Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Utah on Friday, December 3, while cases were also detected and confirmed in Colorado, California, Hawaii, New York, and Minnesota days earlier.
No Reason to Panic
However, WHO's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that there is no reason to panic over this new variant amid tighter travel rules during this holiday season with families returning home to gather for Christmas. Swaminathan said preparedness and caution are more critical than panic because the world is in a "different situation" than last year's pandemic, thanks to the COVID-19 vaccinations.
He said that it's still too early to conclude that vaccinations should be tweaked as 99 percent of the infections across the world are still caused by the Delta variant. Experts worldwide, however, are hoping that, while Omicron could be highly transmissible, it will not be as deadly as Delta. So far, there have been no reported deaths from this variant.
Ugur Sahin of Pfizer in Germany said that he believes their vaccine product will have to be reworked as there will be mutations in populations with low vaccination rates, such as in South Africa, where Omicron was first detected.
