12-22-21 omicron variant spreading around the world

The new omicron variant speeding around the world threatens to further stretch hospital workers already struggling with a surge of delta cases and upend holiday plans for the second year in a row.  Vice president of Pharmacy Services with the Wisconsin region for SSM Health, Mo Kharbat, says omicron, even if it proves milder on the whole, may disarm some of the life-saving tools available and put  immune-compromised and elderly people at particular risk as it begins a rapid assault on the United States.  “This was expected,”  Kharbat told WFDL news.  “This variant in the countries where it was spreading proved to be fast spreading.  It’s very contagious.”  As COVID cases continue to rise Wisconsin now is number one in the country for the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people.  Kharbat says that’s a concern.  “In the Midwest because the winter, because of the cold weather people tend to congregate indoors, and sometimes in crowded areas,”  Kharbat said.  “That is all helping, unfortunately, the infection spreads further.”