Residents Weary Of Coronavirus Going Into New Year

By Brian M. Johnson, The Bristol Press

January 3, 2021

Heading into 2022 residents have a wide range of feelings about the Omicron variant, with some showing concern, others dismissing concerns and many fatigued after two years of the pandemic.

Ewa Kowalczyk, of New Britain, said that she is doing her best to stay safe with the new variant.

"For older people especially it's not something to fool around with," she said. "I know people close who got very sick. I got vaccinated and I still wear my mask when I'm out in public."

Jadyn Thomas, of New Britain, said that he "doesn't live in fear."

"People die from the flu every year," he said. "You don't know what's coming tomorrow. But, at the end of the day, you've still got to live your life. We just have to hope for the best."

Juan Alvarez, of New Britain, said he is "sick and tired" of hearing about covid-19.

"It's all about keeping you afraid," he said. "They are using this virus as an excuse to destroy people's lives. It's been two years. Enough is enough."

Linda Green, of Bristol, said that while the virus is real, the response to it from many has been "hysterical."

"It's no different than the flu," she said. "There's a new type of the flu every year and they give you a flu shot every year. That's all this Delta and Omicron stuff is. We shouldn't have to keep wearing masks and disrupting our lives."

Tom Stevens, of Bristol, said that he has had his vaccine and his booster shot and isn't too worried about the Omicron variant. His bigger concern, he said, is how people have been treating each other over the virus.

"I've heard that this strain isn't that bad," he said. "If you get your vaccine, you'll probably be fine. What I can't stand is the way people have been acting over this whole thing. You've got some people who are afraid to leave their homes. And, you've also got other people who act like they're going to die if they get a shot. All they do is scream at each other online. I had my shots and the worst thing that happened was I had a sore arm for a day. It's not a big deal."

Albert Peguero, manager of emergency preparedness at Bristol Hospital, said that teams at Bristol Hospital have better learned how to care for those with the virus.

"Care providers have become adept at caring for people with covid," he said. There are many new therapies and treatments including using antibodies and a prophylactic drug given to people at risk. Going into the New Year, we are hoping to get bigger allocations of these treatments to prevent hospitalizations and prevent deaths. We have daily calls about how to tackle these challenges."

Peguero said that, in spite of the recent spike, hospitalizations rates are not comparable to where they were last year.

"More patients are doing at-home tests and keeping isolated. There are significantly lower hospitalization rates."

One of the biggest challenges for local hospitals, Peguero said, is people coming to the hospital for covid-19 tests when they are asymptomatic and not feeling sick.

"We're trying to keep our emergency department free for those who need medical care," he said.

A spokesperson for The Hospital of Central Connecticut could not be reached for comment on New Year’s Eve.

Brian M. Johnson can be reached at 860-973-1806 or bjohnson@bristolpress.com.