>> THE EXTREME SPIKE IN COVID-19
CASES IS NOW DECLINING AS
QUICKLY AS IT ADVANCED.
AT ITS PEAK, THE SEVEN-DAY
AVERAGE HIT NEARLY 19,000 NEW
DAILY CASES IN MID JANUARY.
NOW THAT NUMBER IS UNDER 5,000,
BUT ALL 72 COUNTIES ARE STILL
CONSIDERED "CRITICALLY HIGH."
THE NUMBER OF HOSPITALIZATIONS
AND DEATHS DUE TO COVID-19 ARE
ALSO FALLING, AND THIS WEEK,
HEALTH OFFICIALS REPORTED THE
LOWEST NUMBER OF COVID ICU
PATIENTS IN NEARLY THREE MONTHS.
BUT IS RELIEF HERE TO STAY?
DURING A DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
SERVICES MEDIA BRIEFING, STATE
EPIDEMIOLOGIST DR. RYAN
WESTERGAARD SPOKE TO THE
POTENTIAL VARIANTS AHEAD AS THE
PANDEMIC COULD TURN ENDEMIC.
>> OUR EXPECTATION, OUR HOPE IS
THAT WE SEE MORE OF THE SAME,
WHICH IS A DECLINING DAY BY DAY,
WEEK BY WEEK FROM THIS REALLY
EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH PEAK THAT
WE SAW FROM OMICRON.
WHETHER THE NEW VARIATION, IF IT
TAKES HOLD, WILL CAUSE THAT
DECLINE TO OCCUR MORE SLOWLY IS
SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN THEORIZED,
BUT WE WON'T KNOW UNTIL WE
OBSERVE IT.
AND I THINK BOTH OF THESE
VARIANTS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD
IN THE COMMUNITY UNTIL THERE ARE
NO SUSCEPTIBLE PEOPLE LEFT, AND
RIGHT NOW THERE ARE STILL SOME
PEOPLE WHO ARE UNVACCINATED OR
HAVE BEEN FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM
THEIR VACCINE THAT THEY ARE
SUSCEPTIBLE, AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE
BEEN PREVIOUSLY INFECTED HAVE
SOME PROTECTION BUT THAT OF
COURSE WANES OVER TIME AS WELL.
SO THE PHRASE ENDEMIC AS YOU
SAY, MEANING THAT WE'VE SORT OF
REACHED A STEADY STATE OF
TRANSMISSION, I THINK THAT'S
LIKELY TO HAPPEN DURING THIS
NEXT YEAR, BUT THE THING WE
CAN'T PREDICT, ALTHOUGH MANY
PEOPLE ARE REASONABLY -- THINK
IT'S A REASONABLY LIKELY
EXPECTATION IS THAT THERE WILL
BE ADDITIONAL VARIANTS IN THE
FUTURE THAT WILL CHANGE FROM A
STEADY STATE TO A SPIKE THAT
WE'VE SEEN BEFORE.
>> THE OMICRON SUBVARIANT NOW
IDENTIFIED IN WISCONSIN ONLY
DIFFERS BY A FEW MUTATIONS, BUT
A DANISH STUDY IS CALLING IT
1 1/2 TIMES MORE CONTAGIOUS.
HOW CONCERNING IS THIS, AND HOW
DOES SEQUENCING THESE COVID
VARIANTS INFORM RESPONSE TO THE
VIRUS?
WE TURN TO KELSEY FLOREK, A
GENOME SCIENTIST WITH WISCONSIN
STATE LABORATORY OF HYGIENE.
THANKS VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
>> WAS THE STATE LAB OF HYGIENE
INVOLVED IN IDENTIFYING THIS NEW
SUBVARIANT?
>> YES, SO THE STATE LAB OF
HYGIENE IS ACTIVELY SEQUENCING
UPWARDS OF 500 SAMPLES A WEEK,
AND OUR EFFORT HAS BEEN REALLY
FOCUSED ON TRYING TO BETTER
UNDERSTAND THE VARIANTS THAT ARE
OUT THERE IN WISCONSIN AND ALSO
LOOKING FOR THE NEW VARIANTS AS
THEY EMERGE.
>> SO WHEN YOU SEE SUCH A
VARIANT, AND I SAY THIS BECAUSE
IT'S PROBABLY NOT DONE THIS WAY
ANYMORE, BUT WHEN YOU SEE A
VARIANT UNDER YO YOUR MICROSCOP,
WHAT IS YOUR REACTION?
>> SO WE ACTUALLY DON'T USE
MICROSCOPES.
IT'S A LARGELY MOLECULAR
TECHNIQUE SO IT INVOLVES TAKING
THE VIRUS, BREAKING IT INTO A
BUNCH OF SMALLER PIECES AND THEN
FINDING THE GENETIC CODE OF EACH
ONE OF THOSE PIECES.
AND WHAT REALLY IS INVOLVED WITH
THAT IS -- REALLY IT A DATA
ANALYTICS PROCESS OF GATHERING
ALL OF THAT INFORMATION,
COMPARING TO WHAT WE'VE SEEN
BEFORE, AND TRYING TO CLASSIFY
THOSE VIRUSES USING THAT
INFORMATION.
>> SO DO YOU EVER KNOW HOW A
PARTICULAR VARIANT WILL BEHAVE?
>> IT'S REALLY HARD TO PREDICT.
THE COVID VIRUS IS STILL
RELATIVELY KNE NEW, IT'S ONLY BN
AROUND FOR A FEW YEARS HERE, A
WEEFNED BEEN TRYING TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE CAN MEAN
AS FAR AS WHAT TYPES OF EFFECTS
THESE MUTATIONS CAN HAVE
DOWNSTREAM.
WE'RE GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER
TO BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY
CERTAIN MARKERS WE NEED TO BE
CONCERNED ABOUT BUT THERE'S
STILL A LOT OF SCIENCE THAT
NEEDS TO BE DONE TO BETTER
UNDERSTAND THESE MARKERS AND
GOING FORWARD, KNOW WHAT THESE
MUTATIONS MIGHT HAVE IN STORE
FOR US.
>> LIKE WHEN OMICRON BURST INTO
THE POPULATION, WAS THAT
ANTICIPATED BECAUSE OF HOW IT
BEHAVED ELSEWHERE?
>> IT WAS NOT ACTUALLY.
SO WE WERE LUCKY IN THE FACT
THAT WE SAW HOW IT HAPPENED IN
OTHER PARTS OF THE GLOBE, BEFORE
IT CAME TO THE U.S., SO WE HAD
SOME IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT.
BUT LARGELY THAT VIRUS CAME ON
TO THE SCENE AND LOOKED VERY
DIFFERENT COMPARED TO A LOT OF
PREVIOUS VARIANTS WE'D SEEN, SO
IT WAS A REAL CHALLENGE TO
UNDERSTAND EARLY ON WHAT THAT
VIRUS WAS CAPABLE OF DOING.
>> YOU SAY WHEN YOU DO THIS
WORK, YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THESE
MARKERS THAT WILL SUGGEST WHAT
THESE VARIANTS WILL DO.
WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN SO FAR THAT
THE POPULATION SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
IN TERMS OF MARKERS IN ALL THESE
VARIANTS THAT YOU ARE
SEQUENCING?
SO THE BEST PIECE I CAN SHARE
WITH THAT IS THAT A LOT OF WHAT
WE'RE SEEING IS PRETTY STANDARD
THROUGHOUT THE U.S.
WE DON'T SEE A LOT OF THINGS
HERE IN WISCONSIN THAT ARE VERY
UNIQUE TO WISCONSIN.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS LARGELY IN
LINE WITH WHAT HAS BEEN SEEN IN
OTHER STATES AND OTHER COUNTIES,
SO IT'S MORE OF JUST GETTING A
GRASP ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING AND
USING THAT INFORMATION TO BOTH
GUIDE OUR PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS
AS WELL AS GUIDE THE USAGE OF
DIFFERENT THERAPIES THAT WE KNOW
MAY OR MAY NOT BE EFFECTIVE
GIVEN CERTAIN VARIANTS.
>> GIVEN THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF
COVID-19, IS IT YOUR EXPECTATION
THAT IT WILL EVER BECOME JUST A
PART OF LIFE FOR WHICH WE TAKE
SHOTS, LIKE THE FLU, OR IS IT
DIFFERENT?
>> I REALLY HOPE THAT WHEN WE
GET TO A PHASE WHERE IT'S
TREATED VERY SIMILAR TO THE FLU,
WHERE WE MAYBE HAVE A BOOSTER
EVERY NOW AND THEN TO MAKE SURE
THAT WE HAVE ACCURATE PROTECTION
AGAINST WHATEVER COULD EMERGE,
BUT AGAIN, THIS VIRUS IS STILL
VERY NEW AND IT KEEPS THROWING
US THROUGH TWISTS AND TURNS AS
THIS PANDEMIC CONTINUES ON.
>> SO HOW CONCERNED SHOULD WE BE
THAT THIS LATEST, I THINK IT'S
THTHE LATEST, OMICRON SUBVARIANT
IS REPORTED TO BE EVEN MORE
CONTAGIOUS THAN THE ORIGINAL,
BACK TO THAT DANISH STUDY SAYING
IT WAS ONE AND A HALF MORE TIMES
MORE CONTAGIOUS?
>> YES, SO IT HAS BEEN REPORTED
TO BE MORE TRANSMISSIBLE, BUT
WHAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR AT LEAST
WITH THE EVIDENCE IS THAT THERE
SEEMS TO BE SOME CROSS REACTION
HAPPENING BETWEEN THE TWO
VIRUSES, SO EVEN THOUGH IT'S
MORE CONTAGIOUS, IT SEEMS LIKE
IT'S STILL LARGELY VERY SIMILAR
TO THE OMICRON VARIANT WE JUST
RECENTLY SAW THE PEAK OF IN
TERMS OF VIRULENCE AND OUR CAUSE
FOR CONCERN.
>> SO IT'S BEEN ISOLATED IN
WISCONSIN, EVEN IF IT'S MORE
CONTAGIOUS, WOULD PEOPLE WHO
WERE VACCINATED OR BOOSTED OR
HAD ALREADY HAD COVID-19 BE
PROTECTED FROM THAT?
>> SO THE VACCINE DOES PROVIDE A
LEVEL OF PROTECTION AGAINST
SEVERE CASES OF HOSPITALIZATION
AND TREATMENT, BUT I THINK IN
TERMS OF EXPOSURE, THERE'S STILL
A RISK THAT WE COULD HAVE SOME
BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS OF
PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY
EXPOSED OR PREVIOUSLY VACCINATED
COULD STILL GET THIS NEW
VARIANT.
>> ALL RIGHT, WELL, WE WANT TO
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK
YOU'RE DOING THERE TO HELP US
UNDERSTAND COVID-19.
KELSEY FLOREK, THANKS A LOT.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> WHILE OMICRON WAS SWEEPING
THROUGH THE STATE, AVAILABLE
TESTING LAGGED.
THIS VACUUM WAS FILLED BID
POP-UP TESTING SITES QUICKLY
OPENED BY PRIVATE COMPANIES.
IN PARTICULAR, TESTING SITES
UNDER THE BANNER CENTER FOR
COVID CONTROL, AN ILLINOIS
COMPANY, AROUSED SUSPICION AND
COMPLAINTS FROM PEOPLE LOOKING
FOR RAPID TESTS IN CITIES ACROSS
THE STATE.
MADISON HAD SIX SUCH SITES WHICH
HAVE ALL NOW CLOSED DOWN.
THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
SERVICES OFFICE OF INSPECTOR
GENERAL SAYS THE POP-UP SITES
CAN LEAD TO POTENTIAL SCAMS,
POOR QUALITY, OR THE COMPROMISE
OF PERSONAL INFORMATION.
THE WISCONSIN DHS SAYS TRUSTED
TESTING SITES ARE LISTED ON ITS
COVID-19 COMMUNITY TESTING SITES