Health officials in Brockton and Worcester say they are on high alert and bracing to handle the first cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, should it spread to Massachusetts.
Scientists and public health experts are still learning about the variant's potential impact, from how easily it spreads to whether it makes people more severely ill than other variants. Until they know more, city officials are encouraging people to follow the same precautions as earlier stages in the pandemic: wear a mask, wash your hands, maintain distance in public spaces and get vaccinated.
Dr. Eno Mondesir, executive health officer for the Brockton Board of Health, said people need to be aware that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over. He said the city is "working to make sure we are prepared" and will press city residents to get vaccinated. Though, he added, scientists do not yet know how effective existing vaccines are against the omicron variant, and that both Moderna and Pfizer investigations into its effectiveness are underway.
Brockton’s regional vaccination site at the Shaw’s Center at One Feinberg Way is open five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday.
Mondesir said the city will review if they could reinforce some of the old standards or mandates surrounding restrictions or protocols with COVID-19, but they don’t want to move ahead of the state.
In Worcester, the second largest city in the state, Dr. Michael Hirsh, medical director for the Division of Public Health for the City of Worcester and the city’s chief pandemic information officer, said the message to the public is to "pay attention to the omicron variant and take it very seriously.”
Hirsh said the city manager and public health medical support team held an emergency meeting today to discuss the next move. “And what we all agreed upon is that we don't have enough information quite yet to make a lot of prognostications," he said.
While they wait for those details, Hirsh said they are urging the public to get vaccinated and take advantage of the booster vaccine in order to keep people “out of city hospitals, out of the ICU units, and the morgue.” Specifically, he encourages parents of children ages 5-11 to take advantage of available vaccines. Only 10-15% of the school population in Worcester is currently vaccinated.
Hirsh said the city has not seen any positive testing of the variant and that the city does not conduct wastewater testing. “But I do know that we have a lab at UMass Medical Center in Worcester run by Dr. Richard Ellis, and that is really scurrying to look at the last two weeks’ worth of positive cases to see if there's any evidence that it's come to Central Massachusetts.”
If the variant is already in Canada and has spread to other Euroopean and Asian countries, Hirsh said it's probably here. " And then the question is really going to be, is it going to be strong and tough enough to knock delta off of its perch as the the number one variant of of concern?"
Hirsh encourages residents to practice the 3 W’s that were used prior to vaccinations becoming available: Wear your mask, wash your hands, and be wary of your distance, especially in large indoor gatherings.
Worcester county has had a 62 percent increase in COVID cases in the last two weeks, but Hirsh said that hasn't resulted in more hospitalizations.
Effective today, Worcester halted elective surgeries at local hospitals, to free up hospital beds just in case of a surge.
