Native well being officers say the variety of COVID-19 infections in Austin has begun to drop after a pointy surge prior to now few weeks because of the extremely contagious omicron variant.
Desmar Walkes, the Austin-Travis County Well being Authority, stated on Friday that the Austin space is perhaps previous the worst of this newest rise in circumstances.
“We’re beginning to see our case numbers go down,” she stated. “We’re actually inspired by that.”
Janet Pichette, Austin Public Well being’s chief epidemiologist, stated final week the well being division obtained greater than 22,000 optimistic lab outcomes for COVID. This week, nevertheless, she stated they obtained solely 15,0000 – representing a 31% lower within the variety of labs being reported into the well being division.
“I feel we now have plateaued and have positively reached a peak and I feel we’re on the downhill slide,” Pichette stated.
However native officers say they’re maintaining a tally of a extra contagious sub-variant of omicron that has just lately been present in Texas.
Like the unique omicron variant: this newest sub-variant spreads shortly and causes usually milder infections. Pichette stated it’s doable that would trigger one other rise in circumstances within the coming weeks, but it surely’s too quickly to say.
Walkes stated at the same time as circumstances are going performed in the meanwhile, the variety of pediatric infections and hospitalizations stays a severe concern. She stated about 91% of youngsters being admitted to the hospital with COVID are unvaccinated.
Dr. Sarmistha Hauger, a pediatric infectious illness specialist at Dell Kids’s Medical Middle, stated for the reason that pandemic started her hospital has taken in additional than 300,000 pediatric COVID optimistic sufferers.
“Since January, when this omicron surge occurred, we exceeded what number of admissions we had in the summertime with Delta surge,” she stated.
Hauger stated the hospital has additionally been taking in an elevated variety of very younger sufferers. She stated about 37% of the kids being admitted with COVID are between zero and 4 years outdated.
“It is a large change for us,” she stated.
Hauger additionally stated a few fifth of the kids being admitted have required intensive care as a result of their oxygen ranges have gotten so low. To stop these children of hospitalizations, she stated, it’s vital for all members of the family who’re eligible to be vaccinated to get the vaccine.
“The overwhelming majority of those kids [being hospitalized] are unvaccinated and their households are unvaccinated,” Hauger stated.
