Oklahoma COVID expert weighs in as mandates change

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – In the approaching weeks, you may even see COVID-19 associated pointers altering in shops or your place of business.

Amazon and Walmart are among the many main retailers loosening or dropping COVID necessities for Oklahoma workers.

So, is that this an indication of brighter days forward?

“I think the nature of the pandemic is changing,” stated Dr. Dale Bratzler, OU’s Chief COVID-19 Officer. “We have a lot more tools now to deal with it.”

Bratzler continuously follows the info right here in Oklahoma.

As of recently, he says the numbers have been encouraging.

“If you look at the number of cases per 100,000 in the population, we were well over 300 at the peak with omicron, we’re now down to 41. So, that’s about an 86% reduction in the total number of cases,” he stated.

Bratzler credit the vaccines mixed with accessible therapies for what seems to be a transfer nearer to an endemic.

However, he warns that the unknown variable will at all times be the potential of one other variant.

“We didn’t expect omicron to be honest,” Bratzler stated. “Remember, we were all happy when delta was going away, cases were falling in the fall then December hit and omicron came in. So there are other variants that are out there but none of them have seemed to take hold at least in the United States yet.”

As corporations and different states take into account altering or dropping COVID mandates, Bratzler urges warning.

“I’m struggling with it a little bit because I think if you are vaccinated and have received a booster or if you recently had COVID, you probably have pretty substantial protection at this point,” he stated. “I think we can loosen restrictions, we just need to remember that when you’re in public, that there may be people around you that are at real risk of complications of the disease and we need to do what we can to protect them.” 

Bratzler is frightened about these at larger danger.

He says there’s ongoing conversations about the right way to greatest shield them with prime quality masks, vaccines and coverings.

He, after all, says the very best line of protection for all continues to be vaccines and boosters.