As omicron threatens, county runs out of COVID testing kits and demand for vaccines rises

Basketball games are getting canceled due to outbreaks. Many restaurants are barely able to stay open. A couple of school districts had so many sick teachers they were forced to limp into Christmas break early. And while doctors and nurses remain exhausted, hospitals are filling up. The delta variant of COVID-19 has thrived with the return of cold weather. Now omicron looms. "I think it's difficult to predict what's going to happen," Gov. Mike DeWine said Monday during an appearance in western Ohio. "It's pretty clear that the next 30 days, we're going to get hit." Lorain County Health Commissioner Mark Adams said experts are watching what's happening in other countries for clues about what omicron will bring. It's too early to forecast what January will hold. So far, the county has no confirmed cases of the variant — but with cases next door in Cuyahoga County, Adams said it is safe to assume omicron is already here and simply hasn't been detected. Federal health officials have already said the fast-spreading mutation has replaced delta as the dominant strain in the United States, accounting for 73 percent of new infections last week. It's spreading so fast that public health workers are having trouble keeping up, Adams said. Omicron was first detected in Ohio last week. Local testing results are sure to prove it's in Lorain County in the first week of January, he said. In the meantime, a run on at-home, self-testing kits has drained the local stock. Adams said Lorain County Public Health, public libraries and nonprofits like El Centro de Servicios Sociales have also been wiped clean. DeWine is aware and is promising new kits are on the way, but as with other material goods there are supply chain issues to overcome, Adams said. Demand for COVID-19 vaccines also has risen sharply here, he said. Last week, it was common for LCPH to give 30 shots on any given day; on Monday, the health department administered 140. Hospital staff are also being overwhelmed, he said: "I've seen it firsthand with hospital workers, the fatigue and stress they're in." DeWine has ordered 1,050 National Guard members deployed to hospitals across the state. Adams said his understanding is they are being staged in Ohio's five or six largest counties — Lorain County is the ninth largest. But Lorain County also has one of the highest case counts, data show. There are about 120,000 residents here who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, and of those about 100,000 have not yet contracted the disease, according to LCPH. Adams said that group faces the greatest danger right now. Those who have been vaccinated and boosted, even if they do catch the virus, have much better outcomes. A recent peer-reviewed study showed people who have been vaccinated but did not yet get a booster have about 35 percent protection against COVID-19 — and about a 75 percent chance of staying out of the hospital if they do get sick, he said. Exactly how much "armor" varying vaccines and boosters give is becoming clearer every day as more studies are done, Adams said. The good news is that in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, which are being watched closely, cases are not rising rapidly. In Lorain County, 91 percent of that population is vaccinated. "We're not seeing any of the alarming numbers that were occurring last year," Adams said. There has also been a decrease in animosity among people over COVID-19 vaccination and mask-wearing, he said. There are still people changing their minds and venturing out to get their first vaccines. Adams is issuing a plea to those who remain on the fence about being vaccinated: Just call him to talk it over, no commitment necessary. "I'm not going to judge you in any way," he said. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.