There is a new coronavirus variant sweeping New Jersey, but the advice from the state’s top health official remains the same: Get vaccinated and boosted, wear a high-quality mask when indoors or in crowds outside, wash your hands and stay home when feeling sick.
New Jersey health commissioner Judy Persichilli told NJ Spotlight News that the omicron subvariant B.A.5 — which now accounts for nearly two-thirds of the region’s cases — is very effective at “evading immunity and invading the respiratory tract.”
“Get to like your mask,” Persichilli said. The state “strongly encourages” mask use in indoor spaces, along with efforts to improve ventilation, and also “recommends” face coverings for outdoor events that involve a crowd, she said.
But the onus is on individuals to protect themselves and their families. “Just be aware of who you are and who you interact with” and take appropriate precautions, Persichilli said. “We can’t keep mandating, mandating, mandating” protections like mask use and vaccination, she said. “We’re going to be living with it for a while.”
Undercount of COVID-19 case numbers
COVID-19 case numbers and transmission rate — a measure of viral spread — have risen slowly since early June in New Jersey; hospitalizations have been rising for several weeks. Officials concede the numbers of daily diagnoses — more than 4,400 positive tests and likely infections were reported Tuesday — are a vast undercount, given the popularity of at-home tests that are unlikely to be reported, but said the data can still reveal important trends.
Persichilli said New Jersey experienced a similar uptick after the July Fourth holiday in 2020 and 2021. But unlike what happened in the past, she said state modeling suggests that we will remain at the current level of infection throughout the summer. The state is working to ensure people have access to COVID-19 testing, vaccinations and treatments, if they get sick, she said.
Persichilli urged residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and get booster shots when possible. The state is also working with pediatricians and other providers to increase immunization rates among children, which continue to lag, especially among the youngest cohort — ages 6 months to 5 years — who were approved for the shots just last month. — Lilo H. Stainton
Watch the full interview.
