How can I protect myself from the new omicron variant?

Washington

The same way you guard against Covid caused by any othervariant: Get vaccinated if you haven’t yet, get a booster if you’re eligibleand step up other precautions you may have relaxed, like wearing a mask andavoiding crowds.

For all the attention omicron is getting, the overwhelmingcause of infections and deaths in many places remains the extra-contagiousdelta variant.

“Delta is the real risk right now. Omicron is an uncertainthreat,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health,told The Associated Press. Regardless of the coronavirus type, Collins said “wedo know what to do.”

It will take a few weeks to learn key aspects about thislatest variant, including whether it’s more contagious, causes more severeillness or evades immunity -- and if so, how by much.

In the meantime, “what we need to do is add more layers ofprotection,” says Dr. Julie Vaishampayan of the Infectious Diseases Society ofAmerica. That’s especially important with holiday travel and gatherings aroundthe corner. A booster shot is one of those layers. The added dose triggers abig jump in virus-fighting antibodies. Even if the antibodies don’t prove quiteas effective against omicron as they are against other variants, simply havingmore of them might compensate -- in addition to bolstering protection againstdelta.

In addition to masking, avoiding crowds and improvingventilation, testing is another protective step. That’s recommended for anyonewho has Covid symptoms or was potentially exposed to the virus. But it alsocould help ensure safety before holiday gatherings, even if everyone attendinghas been vaccinated, Vaishampayan says.