Today So Far: Has the Omicron wave peaked?

Fingers crossed, there are signs that Covid cases have started to decline around King County. Has the Omicron wave peaked?

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for Jan. 19, 2022.

Here's the thing to understand about that. Covid cases have declined about 20% over the past week. But hospitalizations and deaths generally lag behind case rates. So we are still seeing a rise in hospitalizations. Despite the potential for declining cases, current pandemic conditions are still more severe than they have ever been.

This is like saying we had 20 cars crashing on I-5 last week, but this week we only have 16. Either way, there would still be a pileup on I-5 sending people to Harborview while slowing down the produce trucks heading to your local grocery store (I also assume it's stopping my recycling from getting picked up, but there may be multiple factors behind that).

So even if cases come down, the effects of the current pandemic wave will likely continue into the coming weeks. In Snohomish County, hospital occupancy is near 100%. In Seattle, the school district has seen a considerable spike in cases (some of this may be due to the recent district-wide testing effort) and that has snarled in-person classes. Families report that it is difficult to even know if they are coming into class the next day. Some schools are going back to remote learning.

You know what I'm going to say at this point: get up-to-date on your Covid vaccinations; socially distance; get tested so you don't spread the virus; and wear a mask, preferably an N95.

But let's face it, all that is easier said than done. But some precautions may get a little easier — testing and N95 masks. The White House is working on distributing 400 million N95 masks, for free, through local pharmacies. Also, USPS launched a website where every household can order four at-home Covid tests. If you've tried to find a test recently, then you know how challenging that is. And expensive. In fact, Washington's Attorney General's Office is looking into reports of price gouging for these products.

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