Yeah, you heard it right. The Covid cases are once again skyrocketing. And NO! If you were to think it’s because of the same old Covid, or the Delta variant, you would be wrong. We have a brand-new variant in the town that’s roaming around and getting 80 percent of the vaccinated people sick and 33 percent of those who have gotten a booster shot.

The name of this variant is Omicron which is spreading more quickly than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. Moreover, it’s spreading fast, which has resulted in the all-time highest Covid cases world wide. Unfortunately, everything about this variant is still unknown. However, it has dramatically overtaken Delta as the dominant coronavirus variant in the United States.

The Omicron symptoms are different from the previous strains of Covid, so here’s what you need to look out for:

• Headaches 
• Sore Throat
• Runny Nose
• Fatigue
• Sneezing
• Myalgia (muscle pain)

The symptoms of the Omicron variant are pretty similar to the flu symptoms. So, the best thing to do is to get tested if you have any of those symptoms, so you don’t put your loved ones in danger, by being near them. 

It is crazy to think that Covid-19 has been around for two years.  Dr. Fauci correctly predicted that Omicron would become the dominant strain in the United States. During the White House Covid response press briefing he said, “Omicron is looking over our shoulders… I would assume it would be the dominant strain in the coming weeks.” A lot of schools nationwide have temporary shifted to remote learning, and others are taking extra safety precautions with testing. In New York City, cases of Covid have nearly quadrupled in the last month. From the surge of cases, many events across the state are being cancelled. Additionally, the has FDA authorized vaccine booster shots for kids ages 12 to 15.

The vaccine and masks are still the best protection against getting very ill from Covid, so keep your masks up and keep getting vaccinated!