As omicron fuels COVID spike in Tarrant County, officials steadfast in this message
As Tarrant County enters another COVID-19 spike, public health experts remain steadfast in their three pillars of advice: wear a mask, avoid crowds and get vaccinated.
Keeping a balance of protective measures we used when the pandemic began and evaluating our risk for us and those around us is what’s going to help mitigate spread, according to Diana Cervantes, assistant professor of epidemiology and director of the Master of Public Health program in epidemiology at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.
Tarrant County recorded 5,893 cases the week ending Dec. 25, the most since 6,445 at the of the surge in September. But the county’s positivity rate hit a pandemic high 35.38% on Monday. The number of infections coming from a single case — known as the R0 — is at an all-time high of 1.62, public health director Vinny Taneja told commissioners on Tuesday.
Cases range from asymptomatic and those with mild symptoms to people who are seriously ill, Taneja said. Hospitalizations are beginning to increase.
“We’re going to have big days here coming soon,” Taneja said. “So, you know, it’s going to be a rough ride for the next two, three weeks.”
UT Southwestern estimates this wave will peak at the end of the month.
Cervantes said we may continue to see waves, which she hopes will get smaller, including new variants as the virus evolves. The bottom line for both Cervantes and Taneja remains: Those who are being hospitalized and getting severely ill are largely unvaccinated.
Meanwhile, Stephen Love, the president and CEO of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council, said hospital workers are feeling the heat as they enter their third year in the pandemic, especially as under-staffing issues run rampant.
“We should be very worried,” Love said. “We should be extremely worried because, again, what’s different this time than the past is the staffing is a much more critical issue than it was in previous surges, and it was quite serious in previous surges. I can’t overemphasize how tired the hospital workers are.”
The holidays have left people flocking to test sites, creating a demand that has caused the county and state alike to move to expand resources. Last week, Tarrant County opened its three testing locations seven days a week. On Monday, the state approved six Federal Emergency Management Agency test sites, including one at an undetermined location in in Tarrant County.
“It will normalize and stabilize,” Taneja said. “We will get there.”
Demand for vaccines has risen as case numbers have gone up, Taneja said. As of Tuesday, 59% of county residents 5 and up were vaccinated. Booster rates in Tarrant still sit low at 15%, even as eligibility has expanded. Officials are concerned about children heading back to school this week.
As kids across the county make their way back to the classroom Wednesday, Pfizer expanded its booster eligibility to those 12 and up Monday, as well as shortened the time between primary vaccinations and boosters to five months. Pfizer also announced some immunocompromised children 5 through 11 can receive a third dose.
“Everyone is in this together, and the only way we’re going to solve this problem is if we all work together,” Love said.
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 5:06 PM.
