US doctor shares thoughts about importance of vaccination amid Omicron scare

As the world is grappling with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of Coronavirus, the debate around vaccines and their importance have once again gained momentum. In the wake of this growing and more severe strain of the virus, several healthcare experts across the world have pushed for having the third shot. Meanwhile, Dr Craig Spencer, an emergency department doctor in New York, took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on what he has observed during the pandemic. In a series of tweets, he also shared his opinion about the vaccine and how COVID affects people based on their vaccination status.  

"Every patient I've seen with Covid that’s had a 3rd ‘booster’ dose has had mild symptoms. By mild I mean mostly sore throat. Lots of sore throats. Also some fatigue, maybe some muscle pain. No difficulty breathing. No shortness of breath. All a little uncomfortable, but fine," Dr Spencer stated. He further stated, "Most patients I’ve seen that had 2 doses of Pfizer/Moderna still had ‘mild’ symptoms, but more than those who had received the third dose. More fatigued. More fever. More coughing. A little more miserable overall. But no shortness of breath. No difficulty breathing. Mostly fine."  

Dr Spencer stated that those who had taken a single dose of Johnson & Johnson were "worse overall," as they suffered from fever for a few days. The symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, and cough were also frequent in this group of people. According to him, the unvaccinated people had more chances of ending up in hospitals in comparison to vaccinated people. The unvaccinated COVID-19 patients were found to be suffering from "profound shortness of breath" and their oxygen level was also found to be dropping rapidly. “Almost every one of them needed oxygen to breathe regularly," he stated on Twitter. Dr Spencer also urged people to get their vaccine shots as soon as possible, claiming that the unvaccinated people are found to be the greatest sufferers.  

US mobilising military doctors, federal employees to aid hospitals: Biden 

Meanwhile, on Monday, US President Joe Biden stated that the White House is mobilising military and federal medical personnel to mitigate the risk as some hospitals are found to be overrun with COVID-19 infections in unvaccinated individuals. "We have tens of millions of people who have not taken the vaccine yet and hospitalizations are on the rise. It means that our hospitals will be overburdened in some areas, both in terms of equipment and personnel. An additional 1,000 military physicians, nurses, and medics will be deployed to assist with hospital staffing. Also, hundreds of ambulances have been deployed by FEMA to transport patients," he said as reported by Sputnik. The President also claimed that the rate of hospitalisations in the country is not much owing to the increased number of immunised people. 

Image: Twitter/@Craig_A_Spencer/Shutterstock