SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — The question is, to get omicron and just get it over with? That's the sentiment a few people have been sharing since the latest COVID-19 surge has started to overwhelm society.
The country is seeing crowded hospitals, kids having to get tested just to go to school, and other countries are going on lockdown while the omicron variant is wreaking havoc across the globe and right here in San Diego.
Darcey Johnson and her boyfriend Matt are just now recovering from COVID.
"I just started feeling back to myself yesterday. It was over two very full weeks of feeling...feeling the COVID," said Johnson.
Johnson says the idea of getting the virus to just get it over with isn't the way to go at all.
"If you have a job and a dog or a family, kids,” said Johnson. “I mean trying to function in everyday life while you have kids feeling that way is nothing to play around with."
Doctor Jyotu Sandhu with Sharp Rees-Stealy Downtown says she’s right.
"When people say, 'Oh let me just get COVID and get it over with.' Well, you're not really getting over anything,” said Dr. Sandhu. “You're never fully protected from re-infection."
Dr. Sandhu said the world and doctors who are studying COVID-19, and its resulting variants, don't know enough about the virus yet or the lasting effects.
"We have certain people who do have long-term antibodies but that's not applicable to the general population. They only had about a 2-to-3-week antibody response,” said Dr. Sandhu. “Versus the people who had a tube down their throat having a 4-to-5-month antibody response. Do you want to have a tube down your throat to have a 4-or-5-month protection versus having the vaccine and having a up to 9-month protection?”
When it comes to testing, Dr. Sandhu says the PCR test is better than the at-home antigen tests.
"If you have a negative antigen test but you still have COVID, you'll be spreading it around either asymptomatically or with mild symptoms," said Dr. Sandhu.
Dr. Sandhu continued to say that if you get COVID, it's not just about you, you could be hurting those around you.
"For every single COVID infection, that's one more chance for COVID to change its form," he said.
Dr. Mark Sawyer is a pediatric infectious disease expert who says catching COVID will also put kids at risk, especially those who are too young to get vaccinated.
"It's only mild until it's not,” said Dr. Sawyer. “A small number of people are still getting very sick or even dying from omicron and that includes children. Why take that chance when now we have a vaccine that can take away any risk of severe outcomes?”
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