SPOKANE, Wash. — With early studies showing the Omicron variant of the coronavirus could be two to three times more contagious than the original variant, Providence Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dan Getz painted a grim picture of what this could mean locally.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Getz answered questions about a number of COVID-related topics, such as the spread of the new variant and what it could mean for local healthcare systems.
Getz warned that the new variant could lead to a spike in infections.
"When you look at how contagious Omicron is, unfortunately, probably everybody's going to get a shot at getting this thing," he said. "That's why it's so important to get people vaccinated and really protect themselves as much as they can."
Part of protecting people from the virus is the wearing of masks in indoor public spaces like grocery stores, according to Getz. However, he acknowledged that people are getting tired of taking precautions against the pandemic.
"We know many people are experiencing pandemic fatigue. Mask wearing in the Spokane area has really gone down," he said. "Stores can't enforce it, and this is not the time to walk around unmasked, as we see this variant spreading quickly through our state."
The impact of Omicron has also reached those working in healthcare settings. Hospitals had already been facing a staffing shortage for months before the new variant arrived.
Getz said this shortage has been made worse by healthcare workers catching COVID-19 themselves or being exposed and having to test negative for the virus before returning to work. If a heavy spike in hospitalizations caused by COVID-19 coincides with a large amount of hospital staff being sick, Getz said it could lead to dire consequences.
"We're already at a point now where staffing is incredibly challenging," Getz said. "If we see lots of ill-calls and a high volume of patients, this really could drive the state into a crisis standards of care setting."
Those staffing issues are also impacting how much testing Providence can conduct, according to Getz. In addition to dealing with a high amount of COVID-19 patients, he said they are also treating other illnesses or performing surgeries that may have been delayed during previous surges.
Getz also addressed the fact that a surge locally could impact rural healthcare providers, as it may hinder Providence's ability to take patient transfers from those facilities.
When asked about the demographics of those hospitalized with Omicron, Getz said the most common attribution was patients being unvaccinated.