{"id":72621,"date":"2022-01-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/12\/med-center-virtual-forum-addresses-omicron-variant\/"},"modified":"2025-02-26T14:22:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T20:22:32","slug":"med-center-virtual-forum-addresses-omicron-variant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/12\/med-center-virtual-forum-addresses-omicron-variant\/","title":{"rendered":"Med center virtual forum addresses omicron variant"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"panel body-content\"><div class=\"panel__container\"><p>Mark Rupp, MD, and Armando De Alba Rosales, MD, held a discussion Monday on Facebook Live about the COVID-19 omicron variant and what makes it so different and concerning.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When we look at it at a population basis, this is very, very serious,&#8221; said Dr. Rupp, chief of the UNMC Division of Infectious Diseases and Nebraska Medicine&#8217;s medical director of epidemiology and infection control. &#8220;The sheer numbers of cases that we see coming to the community will predict for a greater number overall of hospitalizations.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/O9TZmH1efo4\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><i>The Facebook Live broadcast recorded 18,500 views online. It also is available on <a href=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/unmcedu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UNMC&#8217;s Facebook page<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Because omicron is so easily transmitted, the med center experts advised people to upgrade their masks.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think that some people have this idea that I\u2019m going to put on a mask if I start having cold symptoms. I start to cough, so I\u2019ll protect everybody, or if I see somebody who\u2019s got a runny nose, I\u2019ll put my mask on and protect myself,&#8221; Dr. Rupp said. &#8220;That just isn\u2019t going to work with this variant. It\u2019s very transmissible.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are now recommending to go with a higher grade of protection &#8212; surgical masks, N95 where possible or KN95,&#8221; said Dr. De Alba, assistant professor, UNMC Department of Family Medicine.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Because when we look at the studies and compare them with cloth masks or bandanas, those cloth masks offer very little protection compared to the surgical mask and the N95.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Dr. De Alba said getting vaccinated, including receiving a\u00a0booster shot, is critical. He\u00a0emphasized how important it is that parents of children be vaccinated.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A lot of kids are not qualified to receive the vaccine, especially those who are younger than five years, so we need to take seriously and follow the preventive methods in order to protect them,&#8221; Dr. De Alba said. &#8220;We see in our hospitals kids are getting sick with this new variant, and hospitalizations are increasing significantly among this population. Get vaccinated, get your booster, because you can be the person who could be the caregiver if your kid will need it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The physicians also addressed the topic of herd immunity and the idea that people purposely expose themselves to the disease.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We cannot depend on herd immunity,&#8221;\u00a0Dr. De Alba said. &#8220;That\u2019s actually inhumane.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If we depend on herd immunity, a lot of people will die. We know omicron is highly contagious, so the more people get infected, the more people will die, according to projections, and we will see the health care system be impacted. So this could be very catastrophic, and that\u2019s what we are trying to prevent.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mark Rupp, MD, and Armando De Alba Rosales, MD, answered people&#8217;s COVID-19 questions on Facebook 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