Health officials say it’s ‘just a matter of time’ before omicron variant reaches Georgia

ATLANTA — COVID-19 cases at Grady Memorial Hospital average about 20 patients a day, but there are concerns at this hospital and others that cases could spike when the new omicron variant takes hold in Georgia and the U.S.

The new omicron variant could spread quickly around the globe and result in severe consequences, according to world health leaders, but many people Channel 2′s Tom Regan spoke with aren’t hitting the panic button.

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“Not really. I haven’t read much on it,” Lamar Tolson said.

“I’m not too worried about it. I want my focus to be on other places,” Rachel Travis said.

Georgia Department of Public Health Chief Medical Officer Alexander Millman said viral specialists are now trying to determine omicron’s transmissibility, the potential severity of illness and the effectiveness of current COVID-19 vaccines to fight it.

“I think it’s just a matter of time before we detect a case of omicron in the United States and Georgia,” Millman said. “At this point there’s still a lot we don’t know about this new variant.”

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Grady Chief Medical Officer Robert Jansen said omicron poses the greatest danger to the unvaccinated and those with compromised immune systems, the same as the delta variant.

“I don’t want us to have mass hysteria, nor do I want us to ignore it,” Jansen said. “The vaccination rate in the south African countries is very low, I think around 30%. We are just over 50%, so that doesn’t give me a whole lot of comfort.”

The state medical director told Regan the widely used COVID-19 PCR test can detect this new virus strain.

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“Cases are starting to rise again in Georgia, and they are rising very rapidly in others part of the country,” Jansen said. “So now is a very important time to get vaccinated if you’re not vaccinated. Get your booster shot.”

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