How to Avoid Omicron— and COVID Fatalism

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 17 January 2022

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The highly transmissible omicron variant has resulted in a surge in COVID-19 cases across the United States, filling hospitals and contributing to worker shortages across industries. The good news is that vaccines appear to dramatically decrease the risk of serious illness. But doctors and public health experts say that even the vaccinated should continue to mask and practice social distancing – and should under no circumstances actively attempt to contract COVID. We’ll discuss the personal and community-based reasons why you don’t want to contract omicron with Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:34.3	From KQED.
0:36.9	Welcome back to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
0:39.3	As surge of recent headlines like Times, no, you should not get Omicron, or NPRs on how getting Omicron to get it over with is a bad idea,
0:50.3	are reacting to a growing narrative that since Omicron is, quote, milder or less likely to leave you hospitalized,
0:58.0	or that COVID infection is inevitable anyways, that it's time to stop trying to avoid getting it.
1:04.0	But doctors and public health officials say you still don't want to get it or get it again if you've already had COVID.
1:13.8	And joining me now is Dr. Kirsten-Bivens-Domingo, professor and chair of the Department of
1:17.9	Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Professor of Medicine at UCSF's School of Medicine.
1:23.2	Dr. Bivens-Domingo, thank you so much for being with us.
1:27.6	Thanks for having me.
1:29.1	So I want to ask you about this.
1:32.4	We really are hearing that breakthrough infections are common, even for the vaccinated,
	...

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