Why you should avoid omicron, even if you’re vaccinated

Omicron has generally been reported to be milder than previous variants, especially for those who are vaccinated and who have  a clean bill of health. Initial reports show that receiving a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine greatly helps prevent the likelihood of infection with the omicron variant, as well as reduce the severity of illness if you do get sick. However, vaccinated people can still get infected.

Even though you are less likely to be admitted to the hospital if you are vaccinated, you might still get significantly sick at home or have symptoms that persist beyond the COVID-19 infection, otherwise known as long COVID-19.

“Everyone by now has heard about long COVID-19 and we know that infections are not always mild and self-limited, even with omicron,” Diekema says. “Some people do get hospitalized, some people do get severely ill, and some people have symptoms that persist for long periods of time, and you really want to avoid that, if possible.”

The UI Health Care Post-COVID-19 Clinic has seen patients with persistent COVID-19 symptoms who initially had mild cases. Their symptoms include brain fog, chronic fatigue, lung inflammation, among others.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the goal was to “flatten the curve,” or limit high peaks in infection that could overwhelm hospitals. This goal is still important, even with a variant that’s less likely to lead to hospitalization.

“Even if only half a percent of people who are infected require hospitalization, if you have 300-400% more cases, that’s a lot of people who need hospitalization,” Diekema says.

By reducing infection rates, we preserve the capacity of our health care system to provide top-quality care to those who have COVID-19 and those who have other life-threatening illnesses, he adds.