Omicron Variant: What You Need to Know

There is a new coronavirus variant called the Omicron variant that has been spreading and we are not giving up our place in school because of it! Here is all we know about it so far. 

The Omicron variant is guessed to spread easier and faster than the SARS-Cov-2 virus and anyone can spread the new virus to others, even if the person has no symptoms or is vaccinated. Which only furthers the need for safety precautions such as masks and vaccines. 

Some research has shown that Omicron is not as severe as the SARS-Cov-2 virus because it does not infiltrate the lungs. 

Even though it is milder, the large numbers of people getting infected may lead to more hospitalization overall, due to health care workers having to be isolated because they tested positive. 

With the new Omicron variant in mind, an interview was conducted with Lauren Bopp, the school nurse. 

She stated that the biggest thing she wants students to know is to get their 3rd dose or booster of their vaccine if they haven’t gotten it yet. “Because what we’ve seen with Omicron specifically is that people who have their third dose are not getting the infection whereas people who’ve only had two doses, we’re seeing a lot of vaccinated students become positive with Omicron which we haven’t seen before with Alpha and Delta.” 

She also explained that so far about 25 students from our school are quarantined right now from Omicron specifically and about 68 students are also in quarantine because they are in close contact with people who have Omicron. 

She believes that at least 70% of students have been doing a great job at staying healthy and safe at school and that roughly 30% of students have been doing bad at staying safe by wearing masks below their nose, not wearing properly fitted masks, or even going to school even when symptomatic. 

She advises students to social distance by staying 3 feet apart from people when wearing masks and 6 feet when not and to wear KN95 masks rather than paper masks to stay safe from Omicron.

Lastly, she claims that the school has increased sanitization, provides masks for students who don’t have masks or need masks, and separates student’s desks by 3 feet in the classroom for the safety of all the students in CPM.

By: Eyal Duressa