Scientists hopeful that evolution and technology will tame COVID-19.
“One of the great next generation technologies is this sequencing capability for genetic material,” said Dr. Dave Engelthaler, director of the Translational Genomics Research Institute’s disease branch. “We look at the RNA and DNA of infectious diseases. By studying the genomics of this virus from the very beginning, we’ve been watching it evolve and seeing new mutations that might lead to new variants. Essentially, they would mutate to a way that they could transmit faster, maybe not cause more serious disease, but maybe start to evade some antibodies. We thought we had the winner of the-survival-of-the-fittest race with delta – that thing transmits really fast and it replaced all other strains around the globe – and then omicron pops up on Thanksgiving Day.”
As the number of cases has been rising in Flagstaff, Flagstaff Unified School District continues to monitor transmission rates and encourage its COVID-19 mitigation strategies, including the use of face masks in all indoor facilities. “We know the week ending Dec. 25, 2021, cases are high and have increased in Coconino County from 389 to 549, and the percent of positivity increased from 12.7 to 15.9%. We have yet to see the new numbers for the second half of winter break after Dec. 25,” stated FUSD Director of Communications and Public Relations Joshua Butler.
Meanwhile, local restaurants are struggling with safety concerns for employees and the public, along with a growing number of ill staff members at a time of workforce shortages in general.
Restaurateur John Conley, owner of Salsa Brava and Fat Olives, says the restaurant industry is more difficult and unpredictable today than it was last year at this time. “Twelve to 15,000 people come through my two restaurants each month and the staff are the ones who are exposed,” he said. “We have 65% staffing right now. So many people are out sick.”
He and his managers are watching the situation day by day to determine whether they should shut down during this latest coronavirus wave. “We believe if we can’t put out a quality product because we don’t have the staff to do it, we’re not going to do it at all.”
Meanwhile, people continue to test positive following the holidays. “We’re telling our staff not even to come into the restaurant until they have their [COVID] test results,” said Conley. “We’ve been following CDC guidelines diligently through the whole pandemic and talking with Dave Engelthaler at TGen constantly. He’s been very generous with his time, not just with me but with all of us in the business. He told us this wave was going to happen fast, a lot of people are going to get infected and we’ll see the numbers jump.”
Engelthaler says the omicron variant does seem to transmit a lot faster than delta, but doesn’t seem to cause any more serious illness. “In fact, there’s growing evidence that it may be milder. We’re watching that closely to see if it is really going to keep this pandemic going, or are we building up enough immunity now to really help slow that down and maybe get to a post-pandemic, what we call an endemic, phase with this particular virus.”
The good news, he says, is that all the other human coronaviruses have become more easily transmitted but cause milder symptoms. “Most people just get a cold. We might be moving in that direction, which could be the silver lining behind this whole dark cloud of omicron.”
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for the first antiviral pill called Paxlovid for the treatment of mild to moderate symptoms in high-risk patients.
In addition, the vaccines that have been developed during the pandemic are providing a “giant antibody boost and a good cellular response” to prevent a life-threatening infection, says Engelthaler; however, their effectiveness drops over time.
“That’s why we have boosters out. And we do hope that the boosters will get your antibodies back up to the same levels that they were when you first got vaccinated and help you from either getting infected or having any kind of a serious infection with omicron,” he said.
For those who are most vulnerable – the elderly and individuals with any type of immune deficiency – he recommends getting the booster shot “probably once a year.” And that everyone else receive a booster shot six to 12 months after vaccinations. “It’s not a bad idea just to keep your antibody levels up high, and if we do that, we’re going to keep moving to this endemic phase where now we just have another virus that we can deal with. Just another cold.” FBN
By Bonnie Stevens, FBN
For more from Dr. Engelthaler, visit Zonie Living: Business, Adventure and Leadership at starworldwidenetworks.com.
