COVID-19 and its variants are influencing public health and in turn, the market and supply chain. The latest variant, Omicron, has made its way to the Midwest.
Here to shed some light on how it will impact public health is Dr. Cameron Webb. He’s a senior policy advisor on the White House COVID-19 Response Team. He does work in rural, low-income communities — places COVID-19 has hit hard throughout the pandemic.
Webb says there’s still a lot to learn about the Omicron variant, but it was between hours and days from when it was first identified in South Africa and when the World Health Organization declared it a variant of concern. He says there are over 50 mutations of Omicron. These mutations can impact how fast it can spread and how effective the COVID-19 vaccine is.
Wisconsin is an agriculture powerhouse, relying on exports of products. Webb says President Biden’s focus is on keeping the U.S. open for business. The latest announcement from Biden on any travel restrictions is that all travelers entering the U.S., regardless of their vaccination status, must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within one calendar day of their departing flight.
When it comes to vaccination mandates, Webb says the White House’s approach is to encourage companies to encourage their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. He says businesses’ vaccine mandates have helped boost vaccination numbers nationwide.
Nearly 60 percent of Wisconsinites have at least one vaccine dose, according to the Department of Health Services. More than 70 percent of U.S. residents have at least one vaccine dose, according to the CDC. Mid-West Farm Report’s Stephanie Hoff asks Webb why herd immunity is not solving anything.
He says those figures are averages, differing by community. For example, roughly 76 percent of Dane County residents have at least one vaccine dose, while 33.5 percent of Taylor County residents have at least one dose, according to DHS. He notes low vaccination rates in communities pose greater threat of COVID-19 spreading. He says the averages are helpful, but they don’t help communities that aren’t at that same level.
Webb encourages Wisconsinites to get vaccinated to protect the ag sector, emphasizing that farmers are critical to the economy and supply chain; when they get sick, he says we all fall.
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