LI Doctor Regarding Omicron Coronavirus Variant: 'Get Vaccinated'

ROSLYN, NY — From Albany to the White House, health officials are taking the new coronavirus variant omicron seriously.

Despite the precautions, it will take up to two weeks for lab results to learn specifics about omicron and how it may affect people with the vaccines and antibodies from the coronavirus.

"[Coronaviruses] are constantly mutating and changing to gain a foothold in the human population," Dr. Alan Bulbin, director of infectious diseases at Catholic Health St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center in Roslyn, told Patch.

With omicron varian cases in South Africa, the United States quickly took steps to alert the public about the concerns. The variant has since popped up in Europe and Canada.

The delta variant has been the worldwide driver of spreading the virus for several months, "because it's just that much more effective and its transmissibility, its effectiveness, is just that much higher. Will this new variant be able to compete with delta in terms of all those same factors?" Bulbin ponders.

The biggest, early concern for Bulbin has been the omicron pattern and the number of mutations in the variant.

"Maybe it only leads to mild disease because some of the loss pathogenicity is not as high," he said.

Another important question that awaits an answer: How effective will vaccines be against omicron?

"It still comes down to the same thing: Please just get vaccinated," Bulbin said. "Please get your booster. Even in the face of any new variant, you're just that much further ahead of the game."

If already vaccinated, Bulbin said, it's still important to be mindful of the risk.

"I would argue, if it's a closed space with close contact and it's crowded, you should be wearing a mask," he said. "And avoid superspreader events."