Sheridan COVID numbers, Pfizer: COVID booster offers protection against omicron

Sheridan County added four lab confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total count to 4,471 lab confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

Another -1 probable cases have also been reported. That total stands at 1,377. 

Currently there are 63 active cases in the Sheridan County Community and 59 deaths of Sheridan County residents attributed to COVID-19.

Currently there are seven hospitalized Sheridan residents fighting the virus.

The Associated Press reports Pfizer stated Wednesday that a booster of its COVID-19 vaccine may offer important protection against the new omicron variant even though the initial two doses appear significantly less effective.

Pfizer said that while two doses may not be strong enough to prevent infection, lab tests showed a booster increased by 25-fold people’s levels of antibodies capable of fighting off omicron. For people who have not yet had a booster, the companies said two doses still should prevent severe disease or death.

Health officials in the U.S. and other countries have urged eligible people to get a third dose long before these results were released.

Pfizer and their partner BioNTech tested blood samples taken a month after a booster and found people harbored levels of omicron-neutralizing antibodies that were similar to amounts proven protective against earlier variants after two doses. For the lab tests, researchers grew samples of so-called “pseudoviruses” that hold the worrisome new mutations.

Scientists don’t yet know how big a threat the omicron variant really is. Currently the extra-contagious delta variant is responsible for most of the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and around the world.

But the omicron variant, discovered late last month, carries an unusually high number of mutations and scientists are racing to learn how easily it spreads, whether it causes illness that is more serious or milder than other coronavirus types — and how much it might evade the protection of prior vaccinations.

Pfizer’s findings, announced in a press release, are preliminary and have yet to undergo scientific review. But they’re the first from a vaccine maker examining whether the booster doses that health authorities have been urging people to get may indeed make a key difference.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that as of Dec. 8, 2021, 86.4% Sheridan County residents over the age of 65 report being fully vaccinated. Sheridan County residents over the age of 18, are reported to be 57.3% fully vaccinated. 

The CDC continues to list Sheridan County’s level of community transmission of COVID-19 as HIGH.

Find more COVID-19 information at www.sheridancounty.com/covid-19/.