PHYS ICIAN’S PERSPEC TIVE
COVID-19:
Where We Are, Where We Might Be Headed It’s safe to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has touched the lives of virtually everyone on Earth in one way or another. The consequences of the pandemic have stressed the U.S. healthcare system—including Sentara RMH Medical Center—over the past two years, and multiple surges have taxed hospital resources, as well as our nursing, physician, respiratory and support staff. Recently, By Robert Garwood, MD increased patient volume caused by the omicron variant, combined Chief Medical Officer with increased staff illness due to community-acquired exposure, have added a whole new level of challenge to our emergency room, operating rooms and hospital staff. Even with declining COVID cases lately, our hospital remains full, and new strategies are being employed to continue delivering highquality medical care to our community. Through hard work, however, we continue to learn about this virus and refine mitigation strategies to prevent its spread, as well as develop therapeutic strategies to treat those infected. Delta versus Omicron Both the delta and omicron variants of COVID-19 have led to significant illness, resulting in large numbers of people requiring hospitalization and increased daily COVID-related deaths. However, the two variants feature significant differences in how they have caused their respective misery. While omicron is markedly more contagious than delta, it is generally thought to cause a milder infection, with a risk of hospitalization or intensive care unit admission about half that of delta. Those at greatest risk remain the elderly, the immunosuppressed and individuals with multiple medical issues. The incubation period for omicron is about two days, compared to four days for delta, resulting
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in a faster onset of symptoms. Unlike previous variants in which fever and cough were the predominant symptoms, omicron tends to present with a runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing and sore throat. Given the faster incubation period of omicron, the course of infection between the two variants also differs. A delta infection appeared to peak in three days, with most people clearing the virus in six days. An omicron infection, which may come with lesser viral loads, appears to peak in two days and clear in a similar time frame.
