Pete Hodgson, Chair
We are ready for Omicron, which will probably have started to spread through Otago and Southland by the time you read this.
Being ready is not the same as predicting and preventing everything. People are going to get sick, go to hospital or die. Omicron will catch us out in many ways; it will make for a memorable autumn.
Being ready means planning and preparing thoroughly. The entire health system locally has done that. The hospitals have, medical centres have and pharmacies have. So have kaupapa Māori services and community services. And so have government agencies besides the health system. As Omicron moves through it will test that planning and preparation, and it will find plenty of imperfections.
Omicron is so infectious that soon it will make no sense to try and stamp it out and we will instead try to suppress it. We might have some success, because our vaccination rates are so high. All ethnic groups now at least 90% double vaccinated, and the total 12+ year population is now 96% double vaccinated, and counting! It is a remarkable effort.
If you haven’t already, now is the time to book in your booster for substantial additional protection. Everyone aged 18 and over who has been fully vaccinated for at least three months can get a free booster now – reducing the chance of more serious infection, and the need for hospitalisation.
Omicron will still come and when it does, please think of health workers. They will have about 8 weeks of high stress. Modelling suggests that during that time 20% or 30% of our health workforce will have to stand down, to self-isolate or because they themselves have COVID 19. Others will have to step up.
Omicron will hit primary and community care the hardest – your GP or your diabetes nurse, your Māori health provider or your mental health practitioner. The people you may well know by name.
Hospitals will be hit too – EDs and wards may become congested or swamped, and some folk will end up in ICU. But, because so many of us have been vaccinated, most of us will have a milder disease.
That is why vaccination is the best preparation of them all.
Check out these other Better Health South Stories:
Get your household ready for COVID-19
Southern hospitals - increase in safety measures
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Hearts of gold helped heal car crash trauma
Southern DHB supports Tonga outreach
