By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – Illinois’ Senior Senator says it’s still too soon to judge the new COVID-19 variant Omicron.
The new variant, which the World Health Organization (WHO) labeled a “variant of concern,” has lawmakers at every level concerned about the new variant.
That includes Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who told WJBC’s Scott Miller, Omicron is a “new reality.”
On Monday, pharmaceutical drugmaker Moderna said the current COVID-19 vaccines are less effective on the new variant than the Delta variant.
“Well, it may be a new reality, but it’s too soon to judge. I don’t think Moderna should of made that statement. As far as I’m concerned, it will days may be weeks before we can really say that definitively, and we ought to be careful to speculate beforehand.”
On Tuesday, the McLean County Health Department reported 59.60% aged 12-17 are fully vaccinated.
“When you are dealing with those numbers, you’re inviting trouble. It just means that the unvaccinated people are folks who are likely to be infected and pass along this infection of the virus, and it won’t go away. We’re going to be living with it much longer periods of time. The numbers in other parts of our state, some of them are worse downstate, some of them are better in the Chicagoland area,” added Durbin.
Until we take vaccination seriously, and we do when it comes to polio, and measles and small pox and other things. Until we take these vaccinations more seriously, we’re going to be more vulnerable to the new variants which are bound to emerge.”
Data suggests the Omicron variant is highly transmissible compared to the Delta variant.
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].
