UPMC doctors issue new warnings as omicron spreads in Pa., urging household-only gatherings
![Portrait of Candy Woodall](/gcdn/presto/2022/04/25/USAT/4e7cdf32-840d-4fdc-85c8-39bcb092e1f7-Candy.jpg?crop=399,399,x0,y0&width=48&height=48&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
The top infectious disease experts in the state's largest healthcare system are urging Pennsylvanians to be vigilant during the holiday season as the COVID-19 omicron variant spreads, urging them to keep parties small.
Dr. Graham Snyder, UPMC medical director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiology, said people should be conscientious about their social gatherings.
"Try to keep them small," he said during a recent news conference with reporters. "Keep them to your household if you can."
"And if you are having a social gathering with a larger group of people, try to mask and consider social distancing," Graham said.
This advice comes as Pennsylvania sees a sustained increase in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
Pa. prepares for omicron COVID variant:What we know and don't know
A surge in new cases
Coronavirus infections in Pennsylvania increased 34% in the week ending Sunday, with 53,249 new cases reported and about 100 deaths. That's up from 39,733 cases the previous week, which was the week of Thanksgiving.
It's important to note the Thanksgiving holiday significantly disrupted testing and reporting.
More current state data shows as of Tuesday there were 4,298 COVID patients hospitalized in Pennsylvania, with 907 of those patients in intensive care units and 589 of those patients were on ventilators.
State health officials and doctors say the overwhelming majority of new cases and hospitalizations are among the unvaccinated. The state's positivity rate is about 17%, among the highest since the pandemic started.
UPMC healthcare centers have been operating at the high end of capacity during the 22 months of the pandemic and saw an increase in recent months.
"The demand for healthcare services has grown dramatically in the past few months," said Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC chief medical officer. "That includes people who have COVID-19 or think they might have COVID-19 and for all other types of illnesses and injuries."
It's been "a volatile period of time," he said, with longer waits sometimes, but UPMC is consistently aiming to prioritize care most effectively.
"We're seeing a pretty high level of activity in our regions and across the U.S.," Snyder said. "It's not nearly as intense as it was last winter, but it's an important level of activity."
New variant:Omicron could be more contagious, less dangerous. That would be 'good news for the human race.'
More:Central Pa. emergency rooms ranked, fastest to slowest. One ER averages almost 5 hours
A push for vaccines
He credited the lower number of cases so far, as compared to last winter, to inoculations.
"We've flattened the curve with vaccines," Snyder said.
UPMC researchers are still gathering information on the omicron variant, but doctors continue to push the best tool they have to fight it.
"Get a vaccine and get your booster," Yealy said.
It's a message repeated by physicians and public health officials alike.
For those too young for the vaccine or immunocompromised and vulnerable, they recommend masking. The state's mask mandate in schools is set to expire Jan. 17, if it's not overturned sooner in the court.
"The best way to protect young kids is to mask," Snyder said.
Masking keeps the virus from spreading and helps to prevent vulnerable people from being exposed.
And if a child is too young to be vaccinated, "everyone else in the family should get vaccinated and boosted," Snyder said.
Yealy emphasized masking.
"Wear your mask with others and in crowds," he said. "It's still the best way to keep those who are vulnerable from getting sick."
Questions have mounted as omicron has been detected in Pennsylvania and other areas of the U.S.
Snyder said it's concerning how quickly the new variant has spread through South Africa, but there's still a lot that is unknown about transmission, the degree of sickness and the level of effectiveness of vaccines.
But he believes the data shows current vaccines offer some protection.
"They will be effective against omicron," Snyder said. "The question is will they be as effective as they currently are against delta, or will we see some small or modest drop in effectiveness."
Being vaccinated and boosted will strengthen the immune response and breadth of antibody response, he said.
"That's a good way to be prepared for omicron," Snyder said.
The latest variant comes as a restless state and nation nears the two-year mark from when COVID-19 was first detected in Pennsylvania in March 2020.
In that time the infection has typically peaked during traditional cold and flu seasons in Pennsylvania and the Northeast, and during the summer in the southern states.
"We've known from the start of the pandemic there will be ups and downs, and these ups and downs may vary globally and even regionally, and that remains true," Snyder said.
And the infection is likely to remain in Pennsylvania and throughout the country for a long while, he said, though he didn't offer a specific time frame.
"It has reached all corners of the world," Snyder said. "We can expect this virus to be with us for some time. We will probably be talking about it for at least years."
Omicron hits one-third of US states:Everything to know about the latest coronavirus strain
More:Pa. Supreme Court says school masking order will remain in place until appeal decided
Candy Woodall is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania Capital Bureau. She can be reached at 717-480-1783 or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.