Another pandemic holiday season

Show Me the Science

The omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is here, but it’s the delta variant that has been driving a rapid increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in recent weeks as people get out into the world more, antibody responses from vaccines wane, and families travel and gather in larger groups. As cases surge and hospitalizations increase, health-care workers are facing a second holiday season with emergency rooms and intensive care units (ICUs) crowded with COVID-19 patients. Nguyet Nguyen, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, spent Christmas Day 2020 in the ICU. At the time, she hoped that what were then newly available vaccines would make 2021 markedly better. As she works with COVID-19 patients this year, Nguyen says she is doing her best to convince them and their family members to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, Tiffany M. Osborn, MD, a professor of surgery and of emergency medicine, says that although she and her colleagues are tired, they’re still committed to working hard to give patients what they need to get better. She says if more people could see what she sees, she’s convinced almost everyone would get vaccinated and wear a mask. For now, both Nguyen and Osborn say that they, unfortunately, expect to remain busy for the foreseeable future.

The podcast, “Show Me the Science,” is produced by the Office of Medical Public Affairs at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.