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Tulane doctor optimistic that Omicron won't worsen pandemic

While the Omicron transmission rate is higher, patient response has been better than to the original virus and Delta variant.

NEW ORLEANS — The COVID Omicron variant is known to be in three dozen countries now and at least a dozen states. Evidence shows it spreads twice as fast as the Delta variant, but there are some positive signs, and an important step to prevent future super bugs.

We're starting to see promising headlines like this one  rom Newsweek: "Omicron Has Not Killed Anyone Says WHO as New Variant Cases Rise in U.S." Cases of the the COVID Omicron variant are rising here in the U.S., but according to the World Health Organization no one has died from it. so why is this and what can you and I learn from this.

Well, let's compare biology to football. Say one team has the ball and drives and then the quarterback and coaches look at images of the opposing team 's formations so they can make in-game adjustments. It's called diagnosing the other team's strategy. exploiting their weakness, changing plays, and trying to be the stronger team and dominate. Each team does it.

Now let's take the coronavirus Omicron variant verses mankind.

“But now I don't think it is going to create the more, worse pandemic anymore,” said Dr. Tony Hu, Weatherhead Presidential Chair in Biotechnology Innovation at Tulane University School of Medicine. 

Dr. Hu thinks Omicron won't cause the pandemic to get worse for this reason. As the virus keeps infecting people it changes, or mutates, to try to get stronger, but at the same time, we the people are changing our defenses to make us stronger, so we can beat the virus. But just like Saints fans, noise can be the twelfth man gamechanger, so can the COVID vaccine. 

“I think the most important reason is a lot of the people got the vaccine. Based on the current vaccination situation, I think this virus is going to go away,” he said.   

It's the 75 percent of the U.S. with at least a partial vaccination rate that is giving us the edge.

“We see the evidence from Delta already in the U.S. how worse it was in India than to the U.S.,” Dr. Hu explained.

So while the Omicron transmission rate is higher, patient response has been better than to the original virus and Delta variant.

But be warned, those who are not vaccinated, are more likely to give the virus a safe haven to change strategy. And the next one could be the superbug.

And the current understanding of Omicron is that being vaccinated and boosted, can give some cross-protection against getting severely sick.

This could put Louisiana at a disadvantage, since only 49 percent of people have been vaccinated. 

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