Despite many having symptoms described as mild for those who contract it, the Omicron variant is having a stronger impact on your everyday life. Schools across the country have switched to virtual learning due to staffing shortages caused by COVID-19, most recently at Chappell Elementary in Green Bay. Just under 90 percent of hospital and ICU beds are being used in northeast Wisconsin, though some patients are still being shipped as far as Iowa to receive treatment on other non-COVID-19 ailments. Door County Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jim Heise says whether you are vaccinated or not, the mild nature of the Omicron variant is making it hard to control.
Some believe catching the Omicron variant could be helpful in the long run. Rob Arnott wrote in the Wall Street Journal that said its fast spread could push us to herd immunity quicker and other studies suggest Omicron antibodies could fight off the much-more serious Delta variant. Heise is cautious when it comes to that kind of thinking.
Wisconsin set a new record-high for COVID-19 infections on Wednesday with 10,288. Door County, which is currently listed in the critically high, will release its next report Thursday. Heise agrees with recent calls for others in the medical community to ditch cloth masks if possible and upgrade to ones that are higher quality to better protect yourself.
