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Opinion | We're not in the clear yet, so don't stop now | Otis Sanford

In his Point of View, Otis Sanford discusses that the pandemic is not over with the new variant out there.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With Thanksgiving gatherings almost back to normal and holiday travel the highest it’s been in at least two years, you might think the COVID pandemic is becoming history. It is not. Yes, cases in Shelby County are down markedly from an August peak and deaths have been reduced as well. Vaccinations have increased, but we are still not where we need to be. 

With vaccination rates just over 50 percent, now there are potentially new worries with a new COVID variant named Omicron that apparently originated in southern Africa and has been detected in other countries including Canada.

Health experts say it is just a matter of time before Omicron is found in the United States. And at this point, we have no clue about how virulent it is or how quickly it can spread. But one thing we do know is people who are not vaccinated at all, are gambling with their lives whether it’s Delta, Omicron and or any other strain of COVID-19. Which means our rate of shots going into arms must go up if we hope to continue our slow trek back to normalcy. 

Perhaps the political leaders in South Africa are correct and we in the U.S. are over-hyping the omicron variant, but what if we are not? No one should be willing to take the chance. 

So for umpteenth time, I say get vaccinated to protect yourself and others. 

I’m Otis Sanford, and that’s my point of view. 

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