There are more concerns about the new COVID-19 omicron variant as cases
continue to spike in parts of the U.S.
In the U.S., a ban
is in effect restricting travel from South Africa and seven other
countries. There are also serious concerns by the medical community, especially
entering the holiday season.
As health experts
are still learning more about the variant, it's unclear if the variant
causes more severe cases of the virus or how the vaccines protect from
the new variant.
"I think it's very important
to practice all safety measures at any of your holiday gatherings this year
until we have more information. If you're thinking about traveling, there's a
ban in place now so it's important to reconsider your travel bans and make sure
you're traveling safe, especially if a high-risk individual. I
think we'll have more information in about three weeks or so on whether or
not our vaccine is going to be able to protect us against this variant,"
says Dr. Deena Adimoolam-Gupta, of Primary Care Prevention and Endocrinology.
Gov. Phil Murphy
advises residents to continue following existing COVID-19 protocols and safety
habits.
It comes as
hospitalizations in the state are up almost 40% in a month. The director of the
National Institutes of Health agrees the best protection against all COVID-19
variants is to get vaccinated and says those who are already vaccinated should
get the booster.
The CDC director
recommends the booster to all adults 18 and older.
Omicron was first
discovered in South Africa, and Japan and France confirmed their first cases
today. Countries around the world are scrambling to close their doors and
find ways to limit its spread.