Less than three percent of Arizona population has booster for Omicron variant
Arizona Department of Health Services says the number needs to be much higher to protect our most vulnerable against severe outcomes - 13 On Your Side's Vanessa Gongora reports
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The Omicron COVID-19 booster has been available since Labor Day weekend, yet the Arizona Department of Health Services says only 3% of Arizona has received the booster, which they say is troubling.
Only 200,000 Arizonians out of approximately a population of seven million have received the new COVID-19 booster to protect them against the Omicron subvariant.
That’s less than the entire population of Yuma County alone.
Dr. Navaneeth Kumar, Yuma Regional Medical Center's Family Medicine Medical Director says this number needs to go up.
"Of 7 million that's a very small fraction and one of the things we would normally be looking for is herd immunity so the more people who are protected against the disease than they are less likely to get the infection or carry the virus that they can transmit to others," Dr. Kumar says.
He says the Omicron booster is important because it gives us better protection not only against the old COVID infection but also the new strain.
"So in recent times I've again seen an uptick in a number of cases. Thankfully they haven't been as severe as before but that doesn't mean that it can't come severe for someone," explains Dr. Kumar.
"So it may be well worth it and prudent to take the vaccine especially like we talked about with winter coming and travel going to increase and the number of visitors to our state going to increase. It may be prudent for us to take to protect ourselves and loved ones."
There are two Omicron boosters to choose from approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Moderna is approved for ages 18 and up and Pfizer is approved for ages 12 and above.
The CDC recommends those who have already been vaccinated, get the new Omicron booster as well, at least two months following your most recent shot.
