The New Normal: Where are we now in the Omicron surge?

News 12's Elizabeth Hashagen was joined by Dr. Daniel Griffin to talk about Omicron, reinfections and testing.

News 12 Staff

Jan 18, 2022, 3:51 PM

Updated 1,056 days ago

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News 12's Elizabeth Hashagen was joined by Dr. Daniel Griffin to talk about Omicron, reinfections and testing.
It's not clear how much vaccines and prior infections are responsible for some of the early clinical impressions that Omicron is causing milder symptoms. Where are we now?
Preliminary data suggests some of the rapid tests may be less sensitive to the now-dominant Omicron variant. The good news, researchers say, is that two newly authorized rapid tests coming to the market as soon as this month work well in detecting Omicron. The FDA issued emergency-use authorizations for the tests by Roche and Siemens Healthineers in late December.
One in five Americans have been infected with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. When does it reach endemic?
How effective is the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children ages 12-17 years?
For the best protection against Omicron, experts recommend three-ply surgical masks, KN95 masks or N95 masks. The fibers in N95s are charged with static electricity, a step that makes them 10 times better at capturing particles. What are the best masks?