Public health urges Shasta County to prepare for omicron with vaccination rate below 50%

As the omicron strain of the coronavirus begins to spread in the United States, Shasta County Public Health branch is urging people to get vaccinated, follow up with boosters and practice prevention strategies.

"We're in a race against time to increase vaccination coverage before new variants emerge," Shasta County Public Health said Thursday. "The best way to slow the emergence of new variants is to reduce the spread of infection — to protect yourself, including getting a COVID-19 vaccine and a booster dose when you’re due."

Shasta County is already dealing with some of the most aggressive COVID strains tracked so far.

According to public health epidemiologists, the delta variant is "by far the most dominant (strain) in our community," Public Health's community education specialist Amy Koslosky said. State labs found delta in 84% of Shasta County COVID samples since early September.

Scientists haven't identified the omicron variant in Shasta County, she said.

State public health labs face a backlog of samples, so there may be delays tracking variants in the North State.

"Our assessment of variants in Shasta County may change as more data is released to us," Koslosky said. Shasta County Public Health's announcement came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a third case of the new omicron COVID strain in the United States — in Colorado.

Of Shasta County residents ages 5 and older — age groups for which COVID shots are approved — 49% are fully vaccinated, according to public health data. That means they either had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or both shots of the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer series.

Another 85,000 residents are unvaccinated or received one of a two-dose vaccine series — slightly more than 51%.

The first omicron case in the US was found in California, and the second in Minnesota, the CDC said.

The World Health Organization declared omicron — also called B.1.1.529 — a variant of concern on Nov. 26. That means it's possibly more transmissible, more severe and/or more resistant to known COVID therapies.

The CDC was optimistic about being better able to fight new variants than in December 2020, it said. "(We've) expanded (our) capacity for genomic sequencing over the past nine months and we have more tools to fight (omicron)."

Tools include getting vaccinated, following up on boosters and practicing prevention strategies including:

• Masking in indoor public settings

• Washing your hands frequently

• Physical distancing.

"These methods work to prevent the spread of COVID-19, no matter the (variant)," the CDC said.

More: COVID-19 updates: 2 women die; about 49% vaccinated in Shasta County

For more information, to get vaccinated or tested, or to schedule a booster shot or third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, go to Shasta County's COVID-19 website at bit.ly/3lxSn4m or call 833-422-4255 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and entertainment stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Public health urges Shasta County to prepare for omicron, get vaccine