No Omicron cases in Delaware – yet

No cases of the Omicron variant had been detected in Delaware as of Dec. 7, but public health officials are checking for the virus, expecting it will soon reach the state.

“It’s only a matter of time,” said Dr. Karyl Rattay, Division of Public Health director, during a Dec. 7 press conference.

A lot remains unknown about the Omicron variant, specifically whether it is less severe than the Delta variant that currently dominates the number of cases in Delaware.

According to DPH statistics released for the week ending Dec. 3, 91 test samples were sequenced through routine surveillance of test specimens. Of those, 61, or 67 percent, sequenced at the DPH Lab were positive for a variant strain, as were four additional specimens sequenced at an outside lab. Out of the 65 variant-positive samples, all were identified as the Delta strain.

“It’s not a time to panic,” Rattay said. “A lot of reports [show that the Omicron variant] is mild, and it affects the unvaccinated.”

Delaware and national officials agree that vaccination and boosters are the best way to fight COVID-19 and its forthcoming variants.

Although hospitalizations have been ticking up in recent weeks, Gov. John Carney said the 296 number posted on Dec. 7 is lower than the 338 hospitalizations last year.

“So it’s not as high as a year ago, but you can see that we had a surge that started a little bit earlier in the winter, and now it is on the uptick,” he said. “But so far it’s been a good experience. So far, we’ve seen very little spread in schools.”

Rattay agreed that there is almost no spread of the COVID-19 virus or its variants in schools.

Another positive is a declining death rate.

“It’s worth celebrating that our death rate has decreased so significantly compared to last year,” she said. 

The seven-day death average posted Dec. 7, 2020 was six, compared to 1.7 posted Dec. 6, 2021, according to DPH statistics.

However, Rattay said, she would still like to see a decrease in the number of hospitalizations, and she encourages everyone to get vaccinated or get a booster.

“The surge is being driven by those unvaccinated,” she said.

Using DPH data from the last week in November, 72 percent of the positive COVID or variant cases involved unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people. Ninety-one out of 114 people hospitalized were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, and eight of the 10 deaths were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals.

COVID-19 vaccinations 

On Dec. 9, the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer booster shot for 16- and 17-year-olds. This allows the third dose of the shot to be given to teenagers at least six months after receiving the second of the two-shot series. This is the same booster that had already been approved for adults. According to DPH statistics, more than 1.4 million Delawareans have been vaccinated.

Centers for Disease Control data includes:

• 77.7 percent of Delawareans 5+ have received at least one dose 
• 83.7 percent of Delawareans 12+ have received at least one dose   
• 85.6 percent of Delawareans 18+ received at least one dose 
• 61.8 percent of Delawareans are fully vaccinated.