How Will Omicron Affect NJ Hospitals As Cases Surge?

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey's record-breaking COVID case numbers indicate that the Garden State could be in for a difficult winter. But it's tough to tell how much the omicron variant will strain the state's hospitals. Read more: Omicron Cases Explode In NJ: See Latest CDC Data

The New Jersey Department of Health reported record-high daily case totals the past two days — 9,711 new cases Wednesday and 15,482 on Thursday. New Jersey hospitals have 2,241 hospital patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 as of Wednesday — the state's highest total since April 14.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said the nation will likely see record numbers in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the weeks ahead because of the omicron variant.

"We are going to see a significant stress in some regions of the country on the hospital system, particularly in those areas where you have a low level of vaccination,” Fauci said on CNN's State of the Union.

New Jersey has the nation's eighth-highest vaccination rate, with 70.02 percent of the population fully vaccinated as of Thursday, according to the CDC. COVID-19 patients with the delta variant left many states without any extra hospital beds at times last summer and fall. But New Jersey's COVID-19 hospitalizations never exceeded 1,200 during that period.

Currently, 71.25 percent of New Jersey's hospital beds are in use, with 10.43 percent of them occupied by COVID-19 patients, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The ratio of COVID-19 hospitalizations to total beds becomes concerning at 10 percent and represents "extreme stress" at 20 percent or greater, according to a framework developed by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

But the omicron variant may come with milder symptoms, according to one study. Research from Public Health Scotland found those infected with the omicron variant in November and December were two-thirds less likely to be hospitalized, compared to those with delta cases.

The study has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and researchers considered it "very, very preliminary."

"It's important that we don’t get ahead of ourselves," said Dr. Jim McMenamin, a director at Public Health Scotland. "The potentially serious impact of omicron on a population can't be underestimated."

With the omicron variant circulating, government and health officials have called on those eligible to receive booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the state health department, 6.1 New Jerseyans completed their initial vaccination series. About 2 million of those people have received their boosters.

"Because we know the power of the initial two-shot shots wanes after six months or so, getting your booster is a matter of necessity," said Gov. Phil Murphy. "Quite frankly, with what we know now about the Omicron variant, if it is time for your booster, get it now, plain and simple."