Omicron comes to (upstate) town

Just in time for the holidays, the Omicron variant has arrived in Delaware while the Delta variant continues to make an impact. And with Christmas and New Year’s causing shorter work weeks, anyone wishing to get tested may want to make plans soon.

All Public Health Clinics that offer COVID-19 vaccination will be closed Friday, Dec. 24, and Friday, Dec. 31 in observance of the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Additionally, the clinics and participating Walgreens will also be closed for COVID-19 testing Thursday, Dec. 23 – Saturday, Dec. 25, and Thursday, Dec. 30 – Saturday, Jan. 1. Walgreens sites that offer Sunday testing hours will operate Sunday, Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.

The Blue Hen Corporate Center in Dover and Georgetown Plaza in Sussex County will be open for Curative COVID-19 testing Tuesday, Dec. 21 to Thursday, Dec. 23, and also from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 26 and Sunday, Jan. 2. Both locations provide a rapid PCR test.

Visit curative.com to schedule your appointment, or de.gov/getmyvaccine for a list of locations.

Beebe Healthcare also continues to offer testing. For asymptomatic testing and COVID-19 vaccines, the best patient experience would be to make an appointment at the Lewes (Bayview) and Millsboro (Mitchell Street), which are two COVID testing and vaccine centers, said Ryan Marshall, Beebe Healthcare spokesman. Since this is a dedicated space, he said, wait times will be shorter than going to a walk-in, since walk-ins will also be caring for other illnesses.

However, for symptomatic testing, Marshall said, Beebe recommends making a primary care or walk-in appointment so that a provider can assess symptoms and discuss the appropriate type of COVID-19 testing with you, as well as any additional testing and/or treatment that may be needed.

Anyone who comes to a walk-in, with or without an appointment will be served in the best manner for the patient, he said, and the overall time/wait just may be longer.

For help with scheduling, rescheduling or canceling a COVID test or vaccine at Beebe, call 302-648-3215 or visit their patient portal.

COVID-19 Variant Cases in Delaware

The Division of Public Health identified the first four cases of Omicron on Dec. 17. All were residents of New Castle, but officials have long warned that the fast-spreading variant will soon become the dominant strain. For now, however, Delta remains the dominant strain, officials said.   

The Omicron variant has been classified as a Variant of Concern by both the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This variant was first reported in South Africa and has since been detected in more than 70 countries and at least 35 states, including Delaware, in the U.S. 

Virus mutations are common, officials said. Preliminary data suggests the Omicron variant may spread more easily and quickly than previous variant strains of the virus.

Officials said the DPH Laboratory and other laboratories regularly monitor for the presence of COVID-19 variants, including Omicron, through routine genomic sequencing of test specimens. Genome sequencing is a public health surveillance tool used to monitor the prevalence of COVID-19 variants; it is not used to diagnose individuals with a specific strain of COVID-19, as treatment recommendations do not differ based on variant strains. COVID-19 tests identify current infection of COVID-19, but do not identify a specific variant of the virus the individual might have.

DPH statistics as of Dec. 18

420 hospitalization, 18 new admissions
13 percent of tests positive
719 new positive cases for the week; 1.6 deaths over past week

CDC COVID-19 vaccination data 

Percentage of Delawareans 5 and older who have received at least one dose, 79.9%
Percentage of Delawareans 12 and older who have received at least one dose, 85.6% 
Percentage of Delawareans 18 and older who received at least one dose, 87.6%
Percent of Delawareans who are fully vaccinated, 63.4%