The Winnebago County Health Department enters a new year of maneuvering its response to a continuing pandemic by asking the public to take “urgent action” to prevent hospitalizations that are straining health care systems’ abilities to serve patients requiring care.

With the holiday get-together and travel surge ending, WCHD officials continue their focus on the Omicron variant of COVID-19 that is now dominant in the United States.

“This variant spreads much more easily than previous COVID-19 variants and will become the predominant strain of COVID-19 in Wisconsin if it isn’t already,” the WCHD stated. “The best protection from Omicron is vaccination, plus a booster, and wearing a mask when recommended.”

As of Monday, the Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots for children between ages 12 and 15. With this, the organization also shortened the time between the completion of primary vaccination and a booster dose to five months from six, according to National Public Radio.

The FDA also allowed for a third dose of vaccine in immunocompromised 5 to 11-year-olds.

However, the county remains at a very high burden status and activity level, coming off a Delta peak as the Omicron surge is underway. There were 123 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in area hospitals as of last Thursday, with local health systems reporting they are at a crisis point and severely strained.

State COVID-19 hospitalizations are at the highest levels since December 2020.

One-quarter of the county’s 170,000 residents have received a booster dose; 60.7 percent have received at least one dose.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services noted that Omicron cases are surging at the same time schools are returning from holiday.

“There is considerable concern that the number of children becoming infected with COVID-19 will increase – having major ripple effects for community transmission and COVID-19 hospitalizations.” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, DHS chief medical officer and state epidemiologist.

Among recent updates on safety recommendations and policies:

  • The WCHD issued a face mask advisory Dec. 23 for inside public enclosed spaces — businesses, health care settings, public transportation — and gathering with individuals who do not live in the same household.
  • The Oshkosh Area School District will return to mask-optional learning Jan. 15 as vaccines and booster shots become more widely available, extending its current face covering requirement for a week to allow for an adequate amount of time to pass after holiday activities.
  • The city will continue to require employees and visitors inside city-operated buildings to wear face coverings, regardless of vaccination status. This requirement will remain in place through Jan. 31 and re-evaluated at that time.
  • White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci on Thursday said the U.S. would see significant improvements this month regarding availability of tests, which have been difficult to obtain amid soaring demand ahead of holiday travel and gatherings.
  • The CDC shortened the recommended isolation time for those exposed to the virus to five days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow by five days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people. Science is demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days before onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after.
  • For people unvaccinated or more than six months out from their second mRNA dose (two months after the J&J vaccine) and not yet boosted, the CDC now recommends quarantine for five days followed by strict mask use for an additional five days.
  • It’s best to wait five to seven days from exposure to get tested. If you test too early, the viral load may not be enough to show up on a test. Anyone with symptoms should get tested immediately.

Sunnyview Expo Center PCR test results currently take about two to three days. Go to co.winnebago.wi.us/health for a list of county testing locations. Vaccines are available for anyone 5 and older any day of the week. Visit www.wcvaccine.org for details.