Both the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays saw jumps in case numbers in the weeks following gatherings.

There are a lot of changes in the pandemic landscape right now — the new omicron variant, the return of mask mandates, increased hospitalizations and deaths because of COVID-19, and some of the highest numbers of cases the region has seen since the start of the pandemic.

Essex County Health Department Program Coordinator Andrea Whitmarsh was concerned about COVID-19 spread before the Christmas holiday.

“Just looking at the state’s numbers over the past few days, I don’t know how anybody wouldn’t be concerned,” Whitmarsh said last week. “We’re talking about case numbers that New York state has not seen this entire pandemic.”

Omicron

The Northeast has the highest percentage of omicron in the U.S. Although Essex County health officials are not able to tell which variants residents are catching, Whitmarsh said it’s likely there are omicron cases here. Omicron has overtaken the other variants, such as delta. Whitmarsh said this is in part because it is more transmissible — it spreads at a rate doubling every two days.

The severity of omicron is not fully known, Whitmarsh said, so public health officials are waiting to see if this increased spread will come with an increased strain on the local health care industry.

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Face masks

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New Yorkers have been asked to wear face masks at social gatherings and are required to mask up in businesses as case numbers rise, even if they are vaccinated. It’s caused confusion for some, as over half the local population is vaccinated.

Vaccination offers protection, Whitmarsh said, but masks add another layer of protection, including for others who may or may not be vaccinated. Whitmarsh said the vaccines with boosters do a good job of keeping these people out of hospitals and morgues, but the more layers of protection, the better. The delta and omicron variants can affect vaccinated people, too, she said.

Masks are highly recommended indoors, where transmission of the virus is high. In Essex County, Whitmarsh said there is “unprecedented spread” among households.

Outdoors, Whitmarsh said masks are not usually needed because the open air keeps COVID-19 particles from spreading to others. But she added that if there are dense crowds of mixed vaccination statuses, masks are still a good idea.

Antiviral pill and test shortage

On Dec. 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized use of the first at-home antiviral pill Paxlovid, produced by Pfizer, to fight COVID-19 infection. Whitmarsh said this is encouraging, but it’s not a way out of the pandemic.

Supplies will be limited at first, and Whitmarsh said she doubts there will be enough to temper the wave of new COVID-19 cases expected after the holidays.

The antiviral will need to be taken early during the infection to ward against serious illness.

Shortages of at-home test kits are being felt in local areas, and high demand for testing during the recent COVID-19 surge is leading to longer waits.

“We’re critically short on tests,” Essex County Board of Supervisors Chairman and Willsboro town Supervisor Shaun Gillilland said. “PCR tests are being super delayed.”

This delays people going into quarantine, he said, which increases the time they could spread the virus.

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Vaccines

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Gillilland said the demand for vaccinations is “going through the roof” with people getting their booster shots. Whitmarsh said first-dose vaccinations dropped off during the summer as everyone who initially wanted to get the vaccine had already done so.

The ECHD holds vaccine clinics at its Elizabethtown offices Monday and Wednesday, with booster clinics on Thursdays.